Charles Leclerc claims pole at 2023 United States Grand Prix for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton lands third spot

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took pole position at the United States Grand Prix on Friday evening.

With the Formula 1 championship claimed by Max Verstappen at Qatar and Red Bull already secure as the constructors' champions, teams and drivers are playing for pride and to improve their cars ahead of next season’s campaign.

However for Leclerc, pole gives the Monegasque the chance to secure a rare win after going without so far this season following the dominance of Verstappen and his team-mate, Sergio Perez.

Verstappen briefly appeared to snatch pole as he went fastest with his last run of the session, but his lap was struck off after he exceeded track limits at Turn 19 leaving him in sixth on the grid.

McLaren’s Lando Norris continued his impressive performance this season when he finished 0.13 seconds behind Leclerc to share the front row for Sunday’s race.

Third spot on the grid was taken by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who has struggled for much of the season as he had the year before.

Hamilton has the best record of any driver at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, but has yet to taste victory in 2023.

Leclerc said: "I felt good straight away from the first laps in practice and then the key was to put the laps together in qualifying. It is a surprise for us, we definitely did not expect to be fighting for pole position.

"The first lap was much cleaner. The second one was more: 'Let's go for it and see what happens.' When you do that, you can end up making more mistakes. But I gained more from risks than I did from making small mistakes."

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate George Russell was fifth, and Leclerc’s stable-mate Carlos Sainz was fourth.

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