LEWIS JUST CAN’T STAP A GLAD MAX
United States GP Austin, 8pm, Sky Sports F1 NICK PATTISON LEWIS HAMILTON will start tonight’s US Grand Prix in Austin second on the grid after title rival Max Verstappen blew him away with a sensational last qualifying lap. The pole was the ninth of the season for Verstappen (inset, top), who leads seven-times World champion Hamilton (inset, middle) by six points with just six races remaining. Mexico’s Sergio Perez (inset, bottom) will line up in third spot in his Red Bull. Verstappen admitted: “It was quite exciting out there. In Q3, my first lap was not amazing and then it started spitting. “I was not sure if I would hang on to my lap time but it was a very strong performance.” Asked about starting on the front row with Hamilton, he added: “I guess that is what people like and from here onwards we will try to get a good start and the best possible result.” Hamilton was quick to radio his team as he crossed the line, and sighed: “Sorry, guys.” The Briton added: “I gave it everything today. “It was a bit of a struggle, and Red Bull were incredibly quick through qualifying. “I was happy with my last lap. “Of course there are areas we can improve, but that was pretty much everything we had. “We will work as hard as we can, but it is a good position to start for tomorrow. My mindset is to win the race.” Hamilton added: “Well, I also wanna acknowledge this great crowd this weekend. “Every time – we always have an amazing crowd here in Austin and fortunately good weather. “We struggled through qualifying and from P1 fell back a little bit. “Hopefully, it’ll be a good race down to Turn One.”