VERSTAPPEN AND LECLERC ON THE FRONT ROW FOR THE MIDNIGHT SPRINT

Max Verstappen was the fastest in the Austin sprint shootout, beating Charles Leclerc by 55 thousandths and Lewis Hamilton by 69 thousandths.

Max Verstappen was fastest in SQ1, with just one attempt. The Dutchman was two thousandths faster than Leclerc, but the Monegasque man was hampered by George Russell on his fast lap, which will be reviewed by the stewards. (penalty 3 grid places)

This time there were no negative surprises for Aston Martin, as both their drivers managed to pass to the next segment without major problems. In contrast, both Haas cars finished the sprint battle in SQ1, as did Valtteri Bottas.

Yuki Tsunoda had trouble with traffic on his exit lap and will be second to last, unlike Daniel Ricciardo who moved into SQ2 by just 0.012. Just like yesterday, Logan Sargent was the slowest and will start last.

Although Aston Martin managed to place in SQ2, they were unable to place in the final segment. Fernando Alonso had the twelfth fastest time, just behind Alex Albon in tenth place.

The Thai dropped out in Q1 yesterday, today he placed in SQ3, which was a pleasant surprise. Lance Stroll, for his part, was fourteenth. Daniel Ricciardo was the best of this group, and Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu were the other two who dropped out.

The best time in SQ2 again went to Max Verstappen, in a session in which a spin destroyed set of yellow tyres. Although there were no major surprises, the Mercedes AMG drivers didn't feel so good on the yellow tires in one fast lap.

However, the W14 was a completely different car on the red tires in the final segment, and they were in contention for the front row, ie. at least Lewis Hamilton, because George Russell didn't have a new set of the softest tires.

At today's Sprint competition, the starting order of the drivers has been determined, according to which they will line up on the grid for the start of the Sprint, which will start exactly at midnight Macedonian time.

At the end of the 19-lap sprint, the top eight drivers will receive points according to the 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pattern.

The stewards of the American Grand Prix reviewed the actions of George Russell in the first part of the sprint event, when he blocked Charles Leclerc on his fast lap.

For this, the stewards punished Russell by losing three positions at the start of the sprint in Austin.

George Russell qualified eighth, but due to a penalty he will start the sprint eleventh, behind Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo.

Shortly before the start of the Sprint Shootout, the FIA issued a brief statement saying that a revision had been made to the track boundaries at Turns 9, 12 and 19.

"After discussions with the teams and drivers, the decision has been made to move the white line marking the track boundaries in turns 9, 12 and 19. This should give the drivers more space in those corners."