Verstappen: A lot of fast cars around me

The Dutchman will start the 2024 United States Grand Prix Sprint at the head of the field after setting the fastest time in SQ3, pipping the Mercedes of George Russell to the top spot by 12 thousandths of a second.

A steady stream of upgrades have elevated the Milton Keynes-based outfit back to the sharp end of grid, as Verstappen managed P2 at the preceding Singapore Grand Prix. Further improvements to the floor of the RB20 seem to have cut lap times even more, as the 27-year-old secured his first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix almost four months ago.

Meanwhile, nearest rival Lando Norris could only manage P4 in his McLaren, despite the Woking-based outfit bringing in updates to various parts of their MCL38. This gives Verstappen a chance to extend his lead in the Drivers' Standings, which currently sits at 52 points with six rounds to go.

The three-time World Champion is aware that he will likely not disappear into the distance during the Sprint on Saturday, but is nonetheless optimistic after a brilliant Qualifying performance.

Speaking to Red Bull media after the session, Verstappen was chipper: "It was a positive day. From lap one the car was in a decent window and I felt quite comfortable.

Even with pole, Verstappen still found fault with his car: "Looking at the lap, there are a few little balance issues to sort out, but to be ahead of the others is really positive.

"I'm aware that there are a lot of fast cars around me but I'm happy and it's definitely a positive return. Looking to the rest of the weekend, we just want to make the car a bit more driveable and that we are all good on the tyres in the race," concluded the Dutch driver.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez had a completely different story to tell after his Sprint Qualifying performance. The Mexican was knocked out in SQ2, his best lap over nine tenths down on Verstappen's time in the same part of the session. He will start the Sprint race from 11th, alongside rookie Franco Colapinto in the Williams.

Perez blamed various drivability issues with his RB20 for his poor result: "Today was very frustrating, especially from SQ1 to SQ2, we didn't have any progression and if anything, we took a step back with the tyres - that made things a lot tricker.

"I am struggling too much early on in the lap, through sector one and we need to look at that. I think I am suffering quite a bit with ride issues in high speed and that's something we also need to look into," added the Red Bull driver.

He hopes the problems will be rectified in time for main Qualifying on Saturday: "Hopefully we can learn quite a bit today from the car and make sure in qualifying tomorrow that we are able to put it together.

"We still have some work to do for the rest of the weekend, the main target is to be strong in the race and our long run pace looked very promising this morning."

The 2024 United States Grand Prix Sprint commences Saturday 19 October at 19:00 BST (13:00 local time).