Sports
Verstappen takes pole to keep pressure on McLaren duo | The Express Tribune
Red Bull’s four-time champion edged Lando Norris by 0.291s, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari
AUSTIN:
Max Verstappen continued to apply pressure on McLaren’s duelling title rivals on Saturday when, hours after winning the sprint race, he claimed pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion was at his most authoritative as he clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.510 seconds to outpace McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.291 seconds with Charles Leclerc taking third on the grid for Ferrari.
With his sprint win, Verstappen trimmed series leader Oscar Piastri’s lead in the title race to 55 points as the two McLarens collided and crashed out at the first corner. Norris remained 22 points adrift of Piastri.
Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari, Piastri, Italian teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes and rookie Oliver Bearman of Haas, who secured his second consecutive top ten start.
It was Verstappen’s seventh pole of the season, his second in Austin, and the 47th of his career.
“That was good,” he said. “I think every segment, the car was very strong. Putting the lap together is difficult, especially in the first sector with the tail wind, it was challenging.
“I couldn’t do the final run, the out lap was a bit messy, but I didn’t need it. Tricky with the wind, it picked up today and in the esses, you just lose downforce.”
Norris said his plan for the race was “don’t get hit” and avoid trouble.
“Just don’t get hit is my plan for tomorrow,” he said. “Hoping for a good race with Max. We’ve had some good ones in the past, so I’m looking forward to it again.
“I’m starting P2 and it could have been worse, but there was no way I could beat this guy.”
Leclerc said: “It’s quite a surprise, considering this weekend has been so difficult. There’s too much swing in performance with this car and there are still things we don’t understand. Our car is normally stronger in the race so that’s positive.”
With temperatures of 34C (93.2C) air and 48C (118.4F) on the track endorsing ‘heat hazard’ status, action began with an early red flag when Racing Bulls’ impressive rookie Isack Hadjar crashed at turn six.
The French driver lost control and smacked the barriers heavily, hitting his helmet in anger at the error that ended his session. The stoppage, to clear debris and damaged fencing, last 10 minutes.
On resumption, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was first out, fresh from his part in the multiple collision at the first corner of the earlier sprint race won by Verstappen after the two McLarens collided and crashed out.
The McLarens were still under repair as the session began and, after Verstappen and Leclerc set the pace, joined the fray with seven minutes remaining.
Piastri went fifth but Norris aborted his first push lap, both showing signs of the pressures of their title duel. On his second lap, Norris was seventh.
In the final seconds of Q1, Verstappen went top ahead of Russell and Antonelli while Piastri and Norris scraped through to Q2 in 11th and 12th.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon of Haas, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Williams’ Alex Albon, who had a late faster lap deleted for exceeding track limits, joined Hadjar in taking an early exit.
After taking a five-second penalty for causing a collision in the sprint, Stroll will start from the back of Sunday’s grid.
McLaren continued to struggle in Q2 as Verstappen set the pace, Norris proceeding in third behind Leclerc with Hamilton fourth. Piastri was eighth, half a second off the pace set by the Dutchman’s 1:32.701.
Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull and the Alpine pair Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto missed the cut to the top ten shootout.
‘Simply lovely’
On their first runs, it was Verstappen again in charge with 1:32.510 to beat Norris by three-tenths with Piastri seventh and the Ferraris ninth and 10th, Leclerc surviving a lurid spin at the final turn.
Red Bull warned Verstappen he was ‘behind schedule’ as he circulated ahead of his final flying lap and he was too late to the line — offering his rivals a chance, but though Norris leapt to second he could not catch him.
Leclerc grabbed third ahead of Russell with Hamilton fifth ahead of a disappointed Piastri who could not improve on sixth.
“Simply lovely,” Verstappen said.
One year after a winter storm forced postponements across U.S. sports, another major weather system is prompting a reshuffling of games this week and threatened to wreak havoc on the weekend schedule.
A storm that meteorologists say could rival the damage of a major hurricane is expected to bring snow, ice and frigid temperatures from New Mexico to New England starting Friday.
The Sun Belt Conference preemptively shook up its women’s basketball schedule, moving around the start times on several games from Thursday through Saturday.
Tennessee’s swim meet at Georgia and the USC Upstate women’s basketball game at Longwood were moved up to Friday from Saturday because of the forecast.
Arizona State‘s on-court threads will look a bit different, courtesy of a program icon.
The Sun Devils unveiled a new uniform on Tuesday that blends elements from James Harden‘s time at Arizona State with his signature shoe deal.
On a black base, “Arizona State” appears in a blocky font in maroon and outlined with gold, with the jersey number sandwiched by the school’s name.
A legacy never leaves 🔱
Introducing the James Harden X ASU collection.
Available now: https://t.co/BbmKQRflzJ pic.twitter.com/Si7ra1CuJe— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) January 20, 2026
Arizona State’s “Sparky” mascot logo is featured on two locations — under the front collar of the jersey and on the sides of the shorts.
On the jersey’s maroon back collar is a cream-colored patch with No. 13 — Harden’s jersey number as a Sun Devil — in gold, a nod to the LA Clippers guard’s two seasons with the program.
Similar to Louisville‘s Donovan Mitchell uniform and Texas Tech football’s Patrick Mahomes threads, Arizona State will feature Harden’s signature logo — in this case on the right side of the jersey’s collar and the bottom left of the shorts.
Harden, a 16-season NBA veteran, played for the Sun Devils from 2007 to 2009 before being selected as the No. 3 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a Sun Devil, leading the team to a 2009 NCAA tournament berth.
The Clippers guard first signed a 13-year deal with Adidas in August 2015, after Nike failed to match the shoe company’s $200 million offer.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reiterated its position against touring India for the T20 World Cup on Wednesday, following the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rejection of its request to shift the side’s matches out of the country.
Bangladesh have refused to play their matches in India, citing concerns regarding players’ safety, and demanded to play their games in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament alongside India.
Following the ICC’s rejection of the request, BCB president Aminul Islam said that he sought more time from the cricket-governing body to talk to his government “for one last time”.
“They [ICC] said it’s a valid point, and gave me 24 or 48 hours to get back to them. I don’t want to put pressure on the government. We know that India is not secure for us. We remain in the stance that we want to play in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Acknowledging the ICC’s decision to keep the tournament’s schedule unchanged, Islam said he would consult the government and convey its feedback to the ICC.
“I am hoping for a miracle from the ICC,” he said, adding that players and the government wanted Bangladesh to play the World Cup.
“But we don’t think India is safe for our players. A government doesn’t only consider the players, but they consider all, when it takes a decision,” the BCB president added.
The ICC announced its decision on Bangladesh’s request after a board meeting earlier in the day.
“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” the ICC said in its statement.
The cricket-governing body maintained that it was “not feasible to make changes” so close to the tournament.
Further, the ICC stated that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events.
As per the schedule, Bangladesh are drawn in Group C and scheduled to play their first three group matches in Kolkata — against West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9 and England on February 14 — before concluding their group stage against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
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