The first part of the sprint qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas was chaotic. Six drivers failed to complete their fast lap in time and therefore did not advance to SQ2. Among them were Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto, but both Haas drivers were also eliminated prematurely.
The problems began in the final seconds of SQ1, where the entire field was preparing for a final fast lap. As often happens, they waited until the track conditions were optimal – but this time the game of ‘who leaves last’ proved fatal. A bottleneck in the final corner meant that several drivers crossed the start/finish line only after the flag was waved, and therefore their lap could not be counted.
