Formula 1 in the USA
Verstappen takes sprint pole – surprise for Hülkenberg
October 18, 2025 – 12:44 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The world champion sets the next pinprick against the McLaren duo that is leading in the World Championship. Meanwhile, Nico Hülkenberg scores a real coup.
Max Verstappen continues to fill the role of hunter in Formula 1 excellently and is also putting pressure on the World Cup favorites in Texas – meanwhile Nico Hülkenberg pulls off a real surprise. World champion Verstappen took pole position for the sprint at the US Grand Prix on Friday, and on Saturday (from 7 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) he can now make the next attack on the McLaren stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the short race.
The two took second and third place on the grid, and one of Friday’s main stars landed right behind them in fourth place: Hülkenberg completed by far his strongest qualification of the year in the Sauber. He had not made it into the top 10 on the starting grid for either the sprints or the main races this season. The German now has his first points in the sprint since July, when he celebrated his first podium in Formula 1 in third place at Silverstone.
The focus will also be on Saturday’s World Cup rivals – and Verstappen is stubbornly one of them. The Red Bull driver is still 63 points behind Piastri and 41 points behind second-placed Norris. However, over the last three race weekends, Verstappen has already gained 41 points on Piastri.
“I think it will be tight in the sprint, we need a good pace,” said Verstappen, “but then something is possible again.” A maximum of eight points can be won in the short race, and in the Grand Prix on Sunday (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) the score is 25 points. Red Bull had gained a huge gap to McLaren in the weak first half of the season, and now there are still six race weekends left. “We’ve been totally involved again for a few races,” said Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on Sky: “But this resurrection is coming a little late. We need help from McLaren.”