The Red Bull driver beat F1 title rival Lewis Hamilton to pole with his final lap in qualifying, taking top spot by 0.209s to secure his ninth pole of the season.
It marked a strong turnaround by Red Bull after Mercedes looked to have the stronger package after the opening practice session, while Verstappen also avoided a late rain shower from scuppering his pole charge at the Austin track.
With Hamilton having to settle for second place, he splits the Red Bull pair, with Sergio Perez in third, having been on provisional pole after the first runs in Q3.
Both Red Bull drivers had to have their rear wings beefed up before qualifying after Verstappen’s suffered a hairline fracture in FP3. Red Bull has confirmed it will investigate the cause of the damage overnight but remains confident it won’t be an issue for its cars in Sunday’s race.
Behind the top three, Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth for Mercedes but will start the US GP in ninth place due to a grid penalty for an engine change.
It means Charles Leclerc has been promoted to fourth place on the grid, with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr moving up to fifth and the McLaren pair of Daniel Ricciardo in sixth and Lando Norris in seventh.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly has been promoted to eighth place with Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda in the second AlphaTauri completing the top 10.
Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and George Russell will all start from the back of the grid due to their respective penalties for full power unit changes.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
When is the F1 United States Grand Prix?
- Date: Sunday 24th October 2021
- Start time: 8:00pm BST, 2:00pm local time
The 17th round of the 2021 F1 season, the United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas, gets underway at 2pm local time (8pm BST) on Sunday 24th October.
How can I watch the United States GP?
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the United States GP, with the race shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Pre-race coverage will be starting at 6:30pm BST ahead of the race start at 8:00pm BST.
- Channel: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
- Start time: 6:30pm BST, Sunday 24th October
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of the United States GP here.
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
When can I watch the United States GP highlights?
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 is also broadcasting highlights of the United States GP at 12:05am BST on Monday. The full programme will run for one hour and 25 minutes, covering the pre-race, the race highlights and the initial post-race reaction to wrap up the major talking points of the race weekend.
For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.
- Channel: Channel 4
- Start time: 12:05am BST, Monday 25th October
Will the United States GP be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations and the via the BBC Sport website.
Live coverage of the United States GP will start at 7:45pm BST on BBC Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sounds app.
Weather forecast for the United States GP
Current weather forecasts predict cloudy but hot conditions at the Circuit of the Americas, with a very small chance of rain during the race. The temperature is expected to be 28 degrees Celsius for the start of the race – 10 degree warmer than the Turkish GP.
How many laps is the United States GP?
The race is scheduled to complete 56 laps of the Circuit the Americas, covering a total race distance of 308.405km.