F1 2023: Leclerc takes United States GP pole after Verstappen's time deletion

For the 19th round of the 2023 season, Formula One heads to the 5.513 km long Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix, which is yet another Sprint weekend. Red Bull Racing have already clenched the Constructors' trophy while Max Verstappen won his third consecutive Drivers' Championship at the previous round in Qatar.
That said, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is all set to start on pole at the United States Grand Prix main race after Verstappen's lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits at the final corner in Q3. Charles Leclerc is joined by McLaren's Lando Norris on the front row, while Lewis Hamilton will be starting the race from third, alongside Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on P4.

2023 United States Grand Prix Qualifying 1
Hamilton led the way in Q1 with a lap of 1m 35.091s. He was closely followed by Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, Tsunoda, Perez, Magnussen, Zhou, Leclerc, and Piastri. Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant were eliminated from the first Qualifying.
2023 United States Grand Prix Qualifying 2
Leclerc topped the leaderboard in Q2, as his lap of 1m 35.004s saw him beat Verstappen by just a mere 0.004s. Hamilton survived a squirrely moment at the penultimate corner as he took third ahead of Sainz, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Piastri, as Russell left it late to go through to Q3 in ninth, with Perez sneaking into the final portion of qualifying in 10th. Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo did not make it to Q3.
2023 United States Grand Prix Qualifying 3
Leclerc crossed the line first with a time of 1m 34.723s, taking provisional pole. Verstappen beat Leclerc's time but ran wide at the penultimate corner meaning his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, as he went from first to sixth on the leaderboard. Norris improved on his final attempt to go second while Hamilton took third.
Sainz was over two-tenths off his team mate and will start fourth ahead of Russell, while the Alpine of Gasly is in seventh behind Verstappen. He was followed by his team mate, Ocon, in eighth, with Perez down in ninth ahead of Piastri in 10th.
Stay tuned to TOI Auto for the 2023 F1 United States Grand Prix Sprint and Race reports later this weekend.