What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in the United States

Red Bull

Verstappen had a great start and thus managed to avoid the first corner chaos. He had to fend off a late lunge from Russell after the first Safety Car period, but after surviving that challenge the Dutchman was untroubled as he recorded his third straight Sprint win here. Tsunoda made it two Red Bulls in the points after an inspired start. Despite running over the front wing of a Kick Sauber, he managed to avoid all the stopped or spinning cars to climb from P18 on the grid to seventh – which is where he finished.

The Dutchman then went on to complete the perfect day by grabbing pole by nearly three tenths of a second, despite not making it across the line to start his second flying lap in Q3. His first was more than good enough in the end, but Tsunoda was once again frustrated over one lap, this time by traffic in the form of Lawson.

Max Verstappen, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 1st, 1:32.510

“I think we had a very strong Saturday and it has been really positive. I was very happy with the Sprint win, it was an eventful race and it was great to get those points. We then made some final changes going into Qualifying to help out the balance a little bit and extract the best performance of the car. I was pleased with how the whole of Qualifying went and with the changes that we made that will hopefully make things easier tomorrow. We worked with the Team to understand what we needed to do with the car and extract performance. We unfortunately missed the final push run by a few seconds which wasn’t ideal but luckily the lap we had was enough. I hope that we will also be strong in the race tomorrow and we need to be good on the tyres. It is difficult to tell as a lot of things will change, it will be a lot cooler and the wind direction will change which usually has a lot of effect on the balance of the car and should help us in the right way. Overall it has been a really good day for us; everyone is pushing very hard bringing performance constantly and the last few races have been very strong so we are looking forward to tomorrow.”

Yuki Tsunoda, Sprint: 7th, Qualifying: 13th, 1:33.466

“I have had a mixed day. The Sprint was very good for me, a lot went on in the first lap, I tried to overtake and out brake the cars in front at turn one. Sending it down the inside was worth the risk; I jumped 11 places but also picked up debris and took another front wing almost half a lap. It was a good recovery and result for driving with two front wings! Going into Quali I felt good but my final lap in Q2 was complicated. It was feeling really good until I hit traffic, I was blocked by Liam and the Alpine, it felt like Pierre was in the way, so it could have been miscommunication on their side. Without that I think I would have been in Q3. It feels like I can’t have a normal Qualifying at the moment, which is really frustrating, as the car feels like it can perform. I felt something pretty good from the car, so it is a shame that last lap didn’t come together. The positive for tomorrow is that I had the race pace this morning in the Sprint and have shown I can jump up the field if I take the right risks.“

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“This has been a very strong day for us and that was down to a great effort from everyone back in Milton Keynes and here at the track. It started off with Max winning the Sprint race. It’s true that we got a bit lucky with both McLarens out immediately after the start. But Max drove a very strong race, defending against George to pick up maximum points and more importantly some very useful information on how the car is behaving on long runs. It was also a pretty impressive opening lap from Yuki, making up ten places or so to bring home more valuable points. As for Qualifying, we made use of what we had learnt from the Sprint to change the set-up for the rest of the weekend. Max’s qualifying was even stronger than yesterday’s Sprint Quali, which means the Team did a great job, going in the right direction. Yuki didn’t quite make it to Q3, but as he demonstrated in the Sprint, from where he is starting, he will be able to fight for points tomorrow.”

McLaren

McLaren had a Sprint to forget when both cars were forced into retirement on the opening lap. Norris had the worse start of the duo but a better racing line into Turn 1, and looked to have made it out of the corner cleanly. Behind Piastri, with better traction but on the outside opted to cut back under his team mate. Unfortunately, a fast-starting Alonso and Hulkenberg were in his blind spot. He found himself tagged by the German, and as a result, hit the back of his team mate who spun. Piastri stopped the car with suspension damaged after getting airborne, while Norris immediately parked up as his tyre rolled down the track. Not the start to the day the papaya team wanted or needed.

Qualifying went better for Norris as he bagged P2 again, just not having the pace to compete with Verstappen who was mighty around the Circuit of The Americas. But Piastri struggled yet again compared to not just his team mate but many of the front runners. He was only sixth, which opens the door for Norris to close the points difference yet again.

Lando Norris, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:32.801

“A difficult day, having missed running in the Sprint this morning, Quali was definitely slightly harder than yesterday. The conditions changed, which didn't help, but I also didn't put my best lap in on Q3, so to be P2 isn't too bad. The team in the garage did a great job getting the car back together, so thank you to them. We don't have a lot of long-run data to work on, but our race pace has often been better than our Quali pace, so I'm optimistic but realistic about our chances for tomorrow.”

Oscar Piastri, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 6th, 1:33.084

“A tricky day for us today. Obviously not the result we wanted in the Sprint. It’s shame to have not been able to finish. Massive thanks to the team for the big effort to get our cars back together.

“Quali was a tougher one compared to Sprint Quali. I just didn’t really feel particularly comfortable in the car, so wasn’t able to put it all together. But it’s a long race tomorrow, and anything can happen, so we’ll make up some places and do what we can.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“A frustrating day on track with a disappointing Sprint where our two drivers were out on Lap 1 at Turn 1. This took away valuable track time for Lando and Oscar, resulting in them both needing to get straight into the rhythm of Qualifying.

“The team did an incredible job turning both cars around ahead of Qualifying given the large volume of parts that required replacing. My gratitude goes to all the mechanics and operational team members at McLaren who showed their resilience in overcoming this difficult challenge.

“While we aren’t on Pole, the entire team will remain focused as we look forward to tomorrow’s Grand Prix, in which we aim for a strong finish with both cars. We will try to take advantage and exploit the strengths in our car, especially with the hot conditions alongside the added factor of tyre degradation.”

Mercedes

Russell ran wide on the outside of Turn 1 and managed to avoid the melee that way, which helped his rise to second on the first lap. After the initial Safety Car came in, he managed to stick within DRS range of Verstappen and made one late lunge down the inside of Verstappen for the lead into Turn 12. But he couldn’t keep his car on track, and Verstappen held the lead. That was his only chance, as the Mercedes man came home a still decent second. Antonelli was left biding his time in P9, and eventually made a move on Bearman. The Haas man went wide and picked up a penalty, which promoted the rookie to P8 at the flag for the final point on offer.

Russell and Antonelli both looked competitive throughout Qualifying, even if the former needed a late effort in Q2 to make it through after running used tyres for his first flying lap. Russell improved one place from Sprint Qualifying with fourth, while Antonelli was also solidly in the top 10.

George Russell, Sprint: 2nd, Qualifying: 4th, 1:32.826

"It is annoying to end the day just 0.026s away from being on the front-row and two positions higher up the grid. P4 is still a solid result but when it is as close as that, you always feel like you could have done just a little bit more. That said, I was happy with my lap. It wasn’t the perfect effort, but I managed to extract a lot of performance from the car and when I crossed the line, I felt that I had done a decent job. Getting P2 would have been a good way to end the day, particularly having finished there in the Sprint this morning, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

"The wind is likely to shift 180 degrees tomorrow which will be interesting. We expect the McLarens and the Red Bull of Verstappen to be particularly quick, but I hope we can be in the mix for the podium. We know we’re in a tight fight for second in the Constructors’ and every point counts. I’m therefore looking forward to the race and seeing what we can do."

Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 8th, Qualifying: 7th, 1:33.114

"I was hoping for slightly better than P7 in qualifying today. We couldn’t maximise either lap in Q3 and ended up just the wrong side of a few cars. P5 was definitely possible today if we had managed to put everything together. It was tricky to do that with the change in wind conditions from run to run, particularly at the end of Q2 and into the final segment. It was scrappy and we will work hard to improve on that moving forward.

"With all that said, I am still looking forward to tomorrow. The wind is going to rotate for the race and that will likely affect the balance. Whilst we were trying to optimise the car for qualifying, we made sure that we didn’t do that at the cost of our race car. Our pace in the Sprint looked good so we can hopefully use that tomorrow and gain some positions."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"It’s frustrating to end qualifying the wrong side of a tight group of cars with both drivers. For George, he was milliseconds away from getting on to the front-row. His lap was good; we haven’t consistently had the single lap pace to challenge the top two this weekend, so it was a solid effort to be so close. Hopefully we can deploy the handy race pace we saw in FP1 and the Sprint to get in the fight for the podium with him.

"It was also a question of what may have been on Kimi’s side of the garage. His Q2 lap was his best of the session and there was likely more time to be found on his first Q3 lap, which was his fastest of that segment. He may have been able to get ahead of Hamilton and Piastri but he certainly wasn’t the only driver not to hook up his best lap as the wind picked up in the closing stages. From P7, he still has a good chance of moving forward and putting together a solid result."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Qualifying was certainly a case of what could have been today. Both George and Kimi felt there was more time to find in Q3, albeit marginally in George’s case. In a best-case scenario, we could have been looking at P2 and P5 but instead it is P4 and P7. That highlights just how close the field has become recently and the importance of delivering the maximum at the crucial moments. It is an exciting challenge and tomorrow we can hopefully enjoy another strong race having come through to the podium and double points in this morning’s Sprint.

"From that 19-lap contest, we gathered some useful data on the Medium tyre. There will still be plenty of unknowns though heading into the Grand Prix. The hot weather will make it demanding on the rear tyres and management will be key. We showed solid pace despite pushing hard in the opening laps of the sprint race so we're hoping that through car performance and strategy we will be able to move forward with both drivers tomorrow."

Ferrari

Leclerc was completely baulked into Turn 1 by a spinning Norris, and yet once he had negotiated that roadblock, he got great traction to climb up to fourth. But a mistake a few laps later opened the door for his team mate, who sailed past. Hamilton had better pace and came close to chasing down Sainz for P3, but ran out of laps to do so.

Qualifying went better for the team than Sprint Qualifying had the day before, with both drivers making Q3 with ease. But once there it looked to be going horribly wrong when Hamilton locked up on his first flying run and Leclerc spun. Luckily both nailed their second laps to bag very decent starting slots.

Charles Leclerc, Sprint: 5th, Qualifying: 3rd, 1:32.807

"The feeling in the car was much better in the Sprint compared to yesterday and our pace was pretty good overall, so that’s a positive. I made a mistake in turn 5 and Lewis overtook me. After that, it was tricky to get back the pace I had before the mistake. We did gain some insights which should help us to be in a better place for the race tomorrow.

"Qualifying was quite a big surprise considering how difficult this weekend had been for us until now. We put everything together in the end and will start from P3 tomorrow. We've learned quite a bit already and have applied that knowledge this afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow we can have a good start and fight our way forward."

Lewis Hamilton, Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: 5th, 1:32.912

"It’s been a positive Saturday overall. In the Sprint we showed good pace and without the final Safety Car, we could have pushed for a stronger result. Qualifying was also a step forward from yesterday: everything ran more smoothly and that made us more competitive throughout the session.

"Tomorrow will be demanding, but starting from further up the field gives us the chance to fight for important points. Strategy will play a big part, so we’ll go through the details tonight to make sure we’re ready for the Grand Prix.

"Austin is one of my favourite tracks and the fans have been incredible all weekend. I’d love to repay that support with a strong result."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Our pace was strong from the beginning of Q1 and we were always in the top four. Then on the first timed lap in Q3, Lewis went straight on at turn 1 and Charles spun, so they were P9 and P10, and we were a bit on the backfoot. But in the end, they were able to put their laps together, even if it was not the best one of the day. Now, as always we will focus on ourselves and see what we can do tomorrow. As for the Sprint Race, we picked up some points and we hope to add to that total tomorrow."

Williams

Somehow, both Williams cars avoided the spinning Norris and stricken Piastri in Turn 1 despite starting in the midst of the top 10. Sainz emerged in third place and had the pace to hold that position, despite pressure from Ferrari behind. Albon was sixth, keeping Tsunoda at bay to make it double points for the Grove-based team.

The Thai driver’s Sprint might have been a success, but Qualifying wasn’t. He lost his lap time in Q1 to track limits, so exited at the first time of asking. But Sainz at least gave the team something to cheer by making it back to the top 10 yet again.

Alex Albon, Sprint: 6th, Qualifying: 19th, 1:34.690

"It was a decent start to the day with the Sprint; we were able to stay out of trouble and make up some positions to bring home a few points. On Friday, we figured out there was a differential issue with the car, and we couldn’t make the changes in time for the Sprint, so going into qualifying the balance and setup was completely new. We need to have a look at the data properly, but by resolving the issue it impacted the balance, and I had more understeer than usual. Generally, the changes made a better and more predictable car, which is positive, but it needed a bit of tuning to accommodate the setup changes, and we didn’t have the time as it was straight into Q1. My final push lap time was deleted for track limits which is a shame as we should’ve been through to Q2 at least. Let’s see what tomorrow brings."

Carlos Sainz, Sprint: 3rd, Qualifying: 9th, 1:33.150

"Today was another good day and I’m happy with my laps. We executed a clean session and pace felt strong. Unfortunately the wind picked up for the last part of qualifying and our car becomes a bit trickier to drive, so overall P9 was more or less our spot today. I have confidence on my race pace for tomorrow so I hope to give these great fans another exciting race to cheer on! We'll aim to move forwards through the pack and hopefully stay close to the cars at the front of the grid. Our ultimate goal is to bring home some more points for the team, so let’s race!"

James Vowles, Team Principal

"It has been a brilliant day for us. The team walks away with nine more points in this World Championship with both Alex and Carlos contributing to the huge points haul. It’s the first Sprint podium we have ever achieved as Williams which is a proud moment for me. We are in a strong position with Carlos tomorrow, starting P9, and I think we have a good opportunity in the race. With Alex, we’ve been struggling with a differential issue across the weekend, and he did brilliantly in the Sprint to get those points in sixth. The team did a fantastic job rebuilding the back of the car before qualifying and the changes were positive, however they significantly changed the balance of the car which meant he wasn’t able to extract everything out of it and it was more unpredictable to him. I am confident that the platform he has for tomorrow will be strong and he’ll be back fighting towards points."

Haas

Bearman rose into the points at the end of the first lap, and despite significant pressure from Antonelli, looked set to score. But when the Mercedes man finally managed to make a move, Bearman ran wide defending. He opted not to give the place up, which meant the incident went to the stewards who handed him a 10-second time penalty. That dropped him from P8 to last. He did at least see the flag unlike Ocon, who was punted into retirement by Stroll when the two clashed late on.

Ocon then exited Qualifying in Q1, just unable to extract much pace from the car. Bearman impressed again though, the youngster seemingly gelling with this track. He made it to Q3 and bagged a very decent eighth in his newly upgraded VF-25.

Esteban Ocon, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 17th, 1:34.136

“It was a pretty decent start in the Sprint, and we made up quite a few positions, but not enough to get into point scoring positions. There’s a lot of risks to take in Sprints – and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time – but unfortunately that’s racing. There’s not much to say really about qualifying, we were just too slow. From start to finish, I was struggling with the consistency of the car and how much confidence it gives in the high-speed section. I had to drive with some margin to complete the lap, otherwise the rear is very loose and I’m about to lose it in every corner, that was where the difficulty was. I think it was a little bit better than yesterday, but not enough.”

Oliver Bearman, Sprint: 15th, Qualifying: 8th, 1:33.139

“The Sprint was going really well, but with the penalty I’ll have to take a look from the onboard camera as from my point of view, I felt it wasn’t a punishable offense as I was being pushed off the track and holding position. I don’t think I was in the wrong for staying where I was. I’m still a bit miffed but it’s nice to come back with a result like that this afternoon in qualifying. We put the upgrade on the car for Sprint quali yesterday, I didn’t have it in on for practice, so I missed a bit of learning of that, plus I’m learning this track. To squeeze into Q3 and then produce a really good lap – I’m really proud of that. The car feels good, it has some different characteristics to the previous car I’d say, which means I was learning on the go. That’s part of the fun of Formula 1 of course, and the changes we made between yesterday and today have really made a difference.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“After a difficult Sprint qualifying yesterday, in the Sprint race today, I think we showed good potential. With the new package, we haven’t had much time to set up the car, but I think the Sprint showed that the foundations are there. We improved the car for qualifying, but it’s still such a fine margin. Esteban was a little bit unhappy with the car on corner entry, he was two tenths off Ollie in Q1, and that was enough to knock him out. On the other side, Ollie managed to scrape through in Q1, and then made amazing steps in Q1, Q2, and also in Q3. To finish P8 and be the top of the midfield pack, that’s an amazing result and a testament to the team for continuing to develop the VF-25. It’s pleasing for all the team, and I’d like to congratulate them. Now need to convert this qualifying position into points.”

Aston Martin

Alonso was on the inside into Turn 1 after a good start, but soon found himself with nowhere to go as the cars concertinaed up. He wound up colliding with Hulkenberg and picked up a puncture. Although he made it back to the pits, he retired the car with too much damage. Stroll then made it a double DNF when he opportunistically sent it up the inside of Ocon late on. Locking up, he hit the Haas and was forced to park up. The stewards then handed him a five-place grid drop for the race for causing the collision.

The Canadian’s afternoon did not improve when he had his flying lap in Q1 deleted for track limits, meaning he dropped out at the first time of asking and with that grid penalty, will start from the back. Alonso though turned his day around by making it to the top 10 shootout for the second time this weekend.

Fernando Alonso, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 10th, 1:33.160

"The car has felt quite competitive for me this weekend and I am pleased to have made it into Q3. It was a shame to not make it further than Turn 1 in the Sprint earlier on, as we were looking at being second or third out of the exit until I got hit. In Qualifying this afternoon it was very tight, but we put some strong laps in Q1 and Q2 to progress. We didn't have the best out-lap in our final push in Q3 and thought we didn't have enough time to make it to the flag. This meant I pushed quite hard and the tyres weren't as good as they could have been. The tyre degradation will be a big challenge tomorrow with these high temperatures, so let's see if we can fight for the points."

Lance Stroll, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 18th, 1:34.540

"Today's not gone my way – there was a misjudgement on my side overtaking Esteban [Ocon] at the end of the Sprint earlier today. I thought I was close enough to dive down the inside but the track was quite dirty there and I locked the front left. It was my mistake and I apologised to Esteban. In Qualifying this afternoon, we managed to get through to Q2 but with track limits had my lap time deleted and qualified in P18. With the penalty from the Sprint, we're starting from the back of the grid tomorrow and see if we can make up any positions. In these weather conditions it's always more challenging managing tyres so we'll see how we do."

Andy Cowell, CEO & Team Principal

"A disappointing Sprint earlier today with both Fernando and Lance picking up damage on lap one when the two McLarens crashed into each other. Fernando suffered a puncture and Lance had to pit for a new front wing. Lance's Sprint ended after contact with Esteban [Ocon] in the closing stages. The garage crews did an excellent job to get both cars fixed and ready in time for Qualifying.

"The Qualifying session was mixed, with Lance one of several drivers to have a lap time deleted for track limits. Without that, he would have progressed safely to Q2. Fernando's efforts earned him a place in Q3, building on the pace we saw in Sprint Qualifying yesterday. It was not the easiest of Q3 sessions, but starting from P10 gives us a chance to race for points tomorrow."

Kick Sauber

Hulkenberg made a good start and went into Turn 1 on the inside of Piastri. But with Alonso on his inside, he had nowhere to go when Piastri started to cut back across. The two collided, and although Hulkenberg was able to continue via a trip to the pits for a new front wing, he finished down the order. Bortoleto did well to make it home in 11th after starting last though, which shows there is still decent pace in the car.

The German could not repeat his Sprint Qualifying heroics, exiting in Q2 but he was P11, so stands a decent chance of fighting for points tomorrow.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sprint: 13th, Qualifying: 11th, 1:33.334

“The sprint was pretty much over after the incident in Turn 1, which was frustrating because it compromised the whole race and ended our chance of a good end result. It was good to get straight back in the car in the afternoon to reset, get it out of the system, and focus on qualifying. This is an amazing track to drive, and overall qualifying was decent.

"Unfortunately, the final lap was not as clean as it needed to be. I struggled a bit in the last sector where I hit some wind gusts, ultimately losing some time there. Starting from P11 tomorrow means we’re close to the points on a track where overtaking is possible.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sprint: 11th, Qualifying: 16th, 1:34.125

"To be honest, it’s been a bit of a tough weekend so far. I’ve been struggling to find the pace, especially in the last sector —as I did not just have the same confidence in the car that I’ve had at previous events so far. The first and second sectors felt strong, but I couldn’t quite put it all together. Looking back to the Sprint, it’s been a bit chaotic with all those yellow flags and crashes, so it was good to bring the car back in one piece – it also gave us an extra chance to gather some more data when it comes to car balance. We’ve done some changes to the car ahead of Quali, and it felt like things are getting better, but I think I just needed a few more laps to really push to the limit and get a shot at Q2. It’s a new track for me, and I feel like I still have something to learn, so I just couldn’t extract everything today. We’ll learn from it and see how to maximise our chances to improve in tomorrow’s race.”

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal

“It was one of the most dramatic Sprints we have seen in quite some time. Unfortunately, what looked like a chain reaction in Turn 1 took Nico out early, compromising his race and removing the opportunities of his strong starting position. Gabi managed to avoid all the incidents and brought the car home cleanly.

“In qualifying, Nico showed strong pace and was on course for Q3 before a wind-affected final sector cost him valuable time. Despite that setback, he will still start the race from P11. For Gabi, it is his first time racing here, and this is a track where experience can make a real difference. He has been struggling a bit with the balance of the car this weekend and will start tomorrow’s race from P16, aiming to make up positions. Both cars are in a solid position for the race, with everything to play for. Our goal remains the same as always: to fight for points. As we saw in the Sprint today, nothing can be taken for granted.”

Racing Bulls

Neither Hadjar nor Lawson could take advantage of the first lap incidents to rise up into the points in the Austin Sprint. Hadjar was baulked on the exit of Turn 1 which cost him places and allowed Lawson to sneak ahead. But they did not have the pace to fight with the cars ahead in the dash. Whether they will do so in the race remains to be seen, but neither driver could come close to troubling the top 10. Lawson was 12th in the end, while Hadjar crashed out early in Q1 after he lost the rear of his car and spun into the barriers. That left the Frenchman with an uphill task in the Grand Prix if he wants anything to show for his Austin weekend bar frustration.

Isack Hadjar, Sprint: 12th, Qualifying: 20th, No time set in Q1

“I’m sorry to the team that the car isn’t coming back in one piece. I arrived at the corner with too much speed and I was definitely surprised by how suddenly the car snapped, but I knew I couldn’t catch it. I know there are things I could have done differently before the corner, it’s all about fine margins around here. The car is quick, but obviously starting from the back isn’t ideal. We’ve had good races coming from the back before, but it’ll be a challenge. We’ll hope for some overtaking opportunities and maybe a bit of magic tomorrow.”

Liam Lawson, Sprint: 9th, Qualifying: 12th, 1:33.360

"We have a very fast car but unfortunately got hit by a big gust of wind at the start of the lap and from that point you're trying to make up lap time. We're all dealing with it at different points throughout Qualifying, but it obviously cost us today. We have a good package, so we'll be working hard to make something work to get into the points tomorrow."

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance

"Following an eventful Sprint race, we had some repairs to do on Isack’s car, but nothing major. Unfortunately, in Qualifying, Isack lost the car in Turn 6 of his first push lap, putting it to an early end.

"Liam had a strong Q1 and went through comfortably but during his last lap of Q2, he made a mistake in Turn 1 and lost some time. Unfortunately the lap was then deleted for track limits going wide into T19.

"It’s disappointing as we were hoping both cars to fight for top 10 with the 6 sets of Soft tyres we had kept for this session but we'll look forward to tomorrow and hopefully turn it around."

Alpine

Gasly made up a handful of places at the start, but he did not have the pace to challenge for the points. Still, P10 is his best finish since Spa across either format. As for Colapinto, he was forced into an early pit stop after picking up a puncture battling Stroll and came home 14th. Both drivers managed to make it out of Q1 in Qualifying which was progress, but neither had the pace out there to challenge for the top 10.

Pierre Gasly, Sprint: 10th, Qualifying: 14th, 1:33.651

“Sprint weekends are always a busy schedule and it has certainly been a busy day at the wheel. I would say we had a decent Sprint Race to finish in P10. Turn 1 was carnage on the opening lap and I just had to try and survive and put the car in the right position to avoid any of the mess. In the end, we gained some places and just had to try our best to defend from there. We lacked pace but certainly learned a few things and tricks, which should benefit us in the race. In Qualifying, again, I felt like we did a pretty good job. I was not too happy with the final push lap where we seemed to struggle in the final corner in particular so we will review that as the first two sectors were good and competitive. I don't think Q3 would have been possible, maybe one or two places higher, but I think, as a team, we can take the positives of being in Q2 for the second time this weekend. Tomorrow, we will see what we can do from P14 and just try to capitalise on any potential chaos in front.”

Franco Colapinto, Sprint: 14th, Qualifying: 15th, 1:34.044

“It has been a tricky day, and weekend overall so far, on my side of the garage. It has been difficult to find the right balance and the car has felt slightly more unpredictable to drive than in recent races, which could also be down to the conditions and high-speed nature of this track. In the Sprint, I managed to get a good getaway but felt some heavy contact from behind on the apex of Turn 1, which ultimately caused a rear left puncture and effectively put us out of contention having to make an extra pit stop. We made some extensive set-up changes between sessions to help me feel more confident with the car. Some things worked and others didn't, but it was a good learning that we can take forward into future races. I was pushing hard in Qualifying and while it was positive getting both cars into Q2, I struggled to put a lap together and had to abort some runs with a few snaps in places. I wasn't really able to race today after the Turn 1 incident, so I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow and seeing what we can do from our starting position.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“Given our results at recent events, we can certainly take some positivity from the Sprint Day here in Austin. In the race, Pierre did well to survive the chaos at Turn 1 and in the end finished in P10, just outside the points. Franco, unfortunately, suffered a rear left puncture in the various incidents on the opening lap, which very much wrote off any hopes of a good result. The car, in general, has been in a decent place all weekend, which is reflected in both cars reaching Q2 on merit, our first double Q2 appearance since Austria in July, underlining the team's desire to keep striving for the best possible outcome each time we are on track. As we saw in today's Sprint, there could be opportunities in tomorrow's race which will require both drivers to drive smartly, and cleanly, and we will see what we can do to maximise our end result with both cars.”

Pirelli

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director

“As expected everyone opted for the mediums to start the sprint race, with the only variable being whether they were new or used. Degradation was high but predictable, especially following the neutralisation, which then allowed the drivers to push hard without worrying about tyre management.

"When it came to qualifying, the times were set using new soft tyres. The high track temperatures made it harder for the tyres to recover their performance after the first flying lap. As a result, the drivers really only had one chance to beat their rivals, with lap times that were a bit slower than expected precisely because of the high track temperatures. The hard tyre now becomes a valid strategic option for tomorrow’s race, given that the performance gap to the medium is less than expected. Looking at all the available compounds, a number of different strategies are possible with no significant disadvantages: all of which are close in terms of overall race time.

"Stretching the first medium stint to a pit stop window between laps 20 and 26 allows a one-stopper, if you then go onto the C1. But a two-stopper is equally effective using soft and medium: starting on the soft and then swapping to the C3 on between laps 12 and 18. The teams can then decide whether or not to run the medium again for the final stint, or stretch the middle stint and use the extra speed of the soft in the final laps.

"A one-stopper using just medium and soft would require extremely accurate tyre management and might risk compromising performance, to the extent that we don’t believe it would be a realistic option.

"As we saw clearly today, the drivers will have to pay close attention to two external factors that made driving conditions tricky: gusting winds and irregular asphalt. The first issue adds to the risk of locking up under braking and so can potentially reduce the operating window of the tyres. The uneven asphalt can instead cause micro-slides, which raises tyre temperature and so adds to the challenge of thermal management.”