F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Mercedes PIPPED to pole as title race takes dramatic swing

George Russell was pipped for sprint pole in Austin by barely a hundredth of a second on Friday evening, Max Verstappen breaking Mercedes hearts with a brilliant late lap to go top of the times.

Verstappen's title challenger Lando Norris could only put his McLaren fourth, handing the advantage to the reigning champion in an important psychological blow.

F1 HEADLINES: Red Bull SLAM FIA inconsistencies as MAJOR title battle points changes announced

READ MORE: Mercedes duo Hamilton and Russell spin out of control at US GP

Oscar Piastri fell victim to track limits at the Circuit of the Americas in the first part of sprint qualifying on Friday, getting dumped out of the session at the first opportunity.

Sergio Perez followed the McLaren out in SQ2, albeit simply for lack of pace rather than due to any track limits issues.

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WATCH: Red Bull still believe in Constructors’ Championship

Here are the times from qualifying in Austin:

F1 Qualifying Results: US Grand Prix 2024

1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - 1:32.833sec
2. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.012s
3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.226s
4. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.250s
5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.256s
6. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas] - +0.350s
7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +0.545s
8. Kevin Magnussen [Haas] - +0.565s
9. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB] - +0.969
10. Franco Colapinto [Williams] - +1.573s

ELIMINATED IN Q2

11. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
12. Liam Lawson [VCARB]
13. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
14. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]
15. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

ELIMINATED IN Q1

16. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
17. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
18. Alex Albon [Williams]
19. Valtteri Bottas [Sauber]
20. Zhou Guanyu [Sauber]

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

READ MORE: FIA statement confirms MAJOR US GP changes