Max Verstappen has turned up the heat on Formula 1 championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris by taking pole for Sunday's AEDT sprint race at the United States Grand Prix.

Red Bull Racing's Verstappen clocked the fastest time of 1 minute and 32.143 seconds in qualifying at Austin's Circuit of the Americas, finishing ahead of the McLaren duo.

He beat Norris by a mere 0.071 of a second, with Piastri 0.380 behind the Dutch four-time F1 champion.

Piastri will start third on the grid, ahead of German Nico Hulkenberg (1:32.645).

"I think [I drove] a pretty scruffy lap, to be honest," Piastri said.

"I just didn't really get it together. I feel a bit fortunate to be third, but I think the pace in the car is good."

Team orders are out of the window, Oscar can now play by 'Piastri rule

See Full Page