Lewis Hamilton battles Max Verstappen in US GP qualifying after calling out FIA

Max Verstappen sent offer to quit Red Bull and join F1 rival keen to be his team-mate

Lewis Hamilton will be looking to upset Max Verstappen by claiming an unlikely pole position at the United States Grand Prix. The 38-year-old will be driving an upgraded Mercedes at the Circuit of the Americas and will have high hopes of putting in a strong showing over the course of the weekend.

Hamilton will be desperate to bounce back with a bang after crashing out of the Qatar Grand Prix following an early tangle with George Russell earlier this month. He was also fined £43,350 after crossing the track while the race was under safety car conditions, but the FIA have since decided to reopen their investigation based on Hamilton being a ‘role model’.

The Brit took aim at F1’s governing body when quizzed on the matter on Thursday, saying: “Ultimately, it’s just poor communication. I don’t think what they said is exactly what they meant. What they mean is they are going to look into how they can tackle those sort of things moving forward to make sure it doesn’t happen.

“I think there was a karting incident recently where a kid was hit, so we really need to make sure that we’re continuously focusing on safety and that’s at the root of it. I think they probably need to speak to their PR agent to do a better job.”

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Express Sport‘s live coverage of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

Tonight’s session will decide the grid positions for Sunday’s race, with another sprint weekend shaking up the usual schedule in Austin.

Max Verstappen will be the hot favourite to claim pole position but the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be desperate to push him all the way.

Mercedes have introduced their latest upgrade package this weekend but it remains to be seen if it will be enough to challenge Red Bull against the clock in qualifying.

We’re just 30 minutes away from the start of Q1 and will be keeping you updated with the action as it happens.

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