AUSTIN: Max Verstappen swept to a convincing pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix in a fast and frantic qualifying session on Friday.
It was the first time in 12 events since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May that the three-time world champion had secured any kind of pole position.
Verstappen clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.833 seconds to beat Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.012 seconds with Charles Leclerc taking third place on the grid for Ferrari.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who trails Verstappen by 52 points in the championship with six Grands Prix including three sprints remaining, was fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas.
“That was good,” said Verstappen. “We had a good day. Sprint qualifying is always difficult. You never know how much you can push, but the car was working well.
“Of course I’m very happy to be first, it’s been a while.”
The Dutchman added: “It’s always very hectic and you know this track is amazing to drive.”
Norris was left frustrated after struggling for set-up balance with his car.
“That was not very good. We are struggling. And my lap was shocking,” said the Briton.
“I hope I can go forward in the sprint, or at least that’s the plan, but honestly for pace we are where we deserve to be.”
Russell said: “I’m happy and it’s been a while since we were on the front tow and my last run was strong. It’s good to be back in the mix. The car is feeling great and it’s close.”
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Yuki Tsunoda of RB and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
Both Sergio Perez of Red Bull and Oscar Piastri of McLaren failed to progress to the top ten shootout.
On a warm, dry day at the Circuit of the Americas, with a track temperature of 35 degrees Celsius, Verstappen led the queue out of the pit-lane to clock a marker lap quickly beaten by Magnussen, Leclerc and then Hamilton in 1:33.840.
In a frantic and brisk opening session, lasting only 15 minutes, Leclerc took the initiative in 1:33.647 before the flag to confirm an early surprise exit for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Willliams’ Alex Albon, who survived a big spin at the final corner in his 100th Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu of Sauber.
A late improved lap by Piastri was deleted because he exceeded track limits at Turn 19.
As in the opening period, the second session began with everyone on medium tires and Hamilton setting the pace in 1:33.370 before Sainz outpaced him by 0.096.
Red Bull delayed their runs, but Verstappen swept to second in 1:33.290 on his opening lap with Perez struggling into 10th.
“I’m struggling a lot with the ride,” reported Verstappen on team radio, on a day when Red Bull’s ride-height device had caused controversy.
At the flag, Tsunoda had improved to bump Perez down to 11th and out again along with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson of RB, the New Zealand driver having taken over from Daniel Ricciardo for the rest of the season.
All this meant Colapinto was in the top-ten shootout with Tsunoda and Hulkenberg.
The two Mercedes men led the way out for third session with Colapinto in tow, Russell topping the early laps in 1:32.845 to beat Hamilton by 0.533.
Verstappen, who had delayed his lap, swept to pole with a strong lap in 1:32.833 to beat Russell by 0.012, leaving Leclerc third and Norris fourth.
Verstappen ends long wait for pole at US Grand Prix sprint qualifying
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Verstappen ends long wait for pole at US Grand Prix sprint qualifying
Wawrinka rolls back the years to beat Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan in front of Federer
- 3-time Slam winner upped his level when required to serve his way past Hassan at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
- Top-ranked Arab player on the ATP Tour, Moez Echargui of Tunisia, was also in action on day 1, slipping to the narrowest of defeats to Mpetshi Perricard
DUBAI: Forty-year-old Stan Wawrinka, the three-time Grand Slam winner who is competing in his final Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week, rolled back the years on Centre Court to overcome Lebanese wildcard Benjamin Hassan in straight sets and become the oldest player to win a match in the Dubai tournament’s 34-year history.
Wawrinka’s record was previously held by his Swiss compatriot, the legendary Roger Federer, so it was fitting then that the 20-time Grand Slam winner was inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium to cheer on his fellow Olympic gold medalist.
“I’m not sure it’s the best record of his to have,” Wawrinka joked in his on-court interview as fans switched from cheering his every move to applauding an on-screen image of Federer, who won the title here eight times, including his last at the ripe old age of 37 in 2019. “(The appreciation of the fans) is one of the reasons why I have kept playing for so long — to enjoy these matches and these tournaments. I’m super grateful to all those who came out tonight.”
Wawrinka looked far from a player ready to hang up his racket as he beat Hassan 7-5, 6-3 and without dropping a single service game. That is not to say the German-born Hassan failed to put up a fight, but only that whenever he got close — and he forced three break-points across the two sets — Wawrinka seemed to go up a level. In both games where the Swiss looked like he might see his serve broken, he pulled an ace out of his bag to finish the match with nine aces overall.
“All good things have to come to an end,” Wawrinka said when asked why he is choosing to step away now when he evidently still has so much to offer. “Nobody can play forever and as much as I am passionate and still playing well, I know that it’s the right thing to do.”
Hassan, ranked World No. 289 and making his Dubai debut, revealed he was thankfully not aware of Federer’s presence until after the match, adding: “Stan played really good and was serving unbelievable. I had my chances to come back in the second set but unfortunately missed some returns. It was tough, but I’m happy with my performance. Lots of things to work on, of course, but overall, it was just a privilege to be here, to play my first match, and against Stan — it’s incredible.”
Asked in his post-match news conference whether he had taken the chance to speak with Federer at all, Hassan raised his hand in the air: “I’m never washing this hand again! He came to me and said ‘good match’ and I said ‘thank you’ in German. He looked a little bit surprised to hear that, but, yeah, I will always keep this hand dry now in the shower!”
Another Arab player was in action on day one as Tunisian Moez Echargui also made his Dubai debut, taking on France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round. In a match of the finest margins, Echargui — the highest-ranked Arab on tour at 141, yet ranked 83 places below his opponent — forced three tiebreaks before Mpetshi Perricard edged the final set to progress 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4).
Having made his ATP 500 debut last week in Doha, this month is proving eye-opening for the 33-year-old North African as he embraces the experience of playing in such high-profile events. Echargui and his coaches are using the new opportunities afforded to him as a wildcard to improve and learn as much as possible against the world’s best players.
“Going on Centre Court and playing against top players, it is where we want to be, playing in these big tournaments, in front of these big crowds”, said Echargui, whose next stop is Indian Wells next week. “Despite the result, I’m feeling really positive about it. I knew the match would be a hard one, so I just tried to stay focused all of the way through. I’m proud to represent my country and to represent all of the Arab world, especially here in Dubai. It’s such a privilege. It’s been fulfilling — a great experience.”
