The sprint event, which carries eight points for victory, seven points for second and so on down to eighth place, is on Saturday at 19:00 BST.
The result was a blow for Norris, who needs to close on Verstappen by an average of almost nine points per race, especially as both Red Bull and McLaren are among the teams making upgrades to their cars this weekend.
Verstappen, who had not qualified fastest since the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of July, said: “We had a good day. The car worked really well and were happy to finish first. It’s been a long time.” Has gone.”
McLaren has had the fastest car for some time, and Verstappen has been fighting a rearguard battle as Norris has extended his lead in every race since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.
The Briton said: “Not very good. Not a very good day. Struggled all day, honestly, with balance and set-up. In a way, happy with P4 because it could have been much worse, but the lap Shocking.”
And he played down the relevance of McLaren’s upgrade package, saying: “It’s not a new package, it’s pretty much the same. In terms of speed, we’re where we want to be.”
Mercedes, on the other hand, had high expectations for their upgrade package, which was their first significant package for many months, and it initially appears to have made a big difference.
Russell said: “Really happy because it’s been a long time since we’ve been on the front row and it was a really difficult session but really pulled the lap together at the end and my last sector was really strong, that’s what Made a difference.
“We knew the car had potential. The car looks great so far with these upgrades. It’s close but that P2 surprised us a little. Just excited to get back into this position. It’s been a while.” Is.”
Russell and Hamilton both dropped out early in the season at the Circuit of the Americas, while the other front-runners chose to wait until the final moments.
But it backfired when Williams driver Franco Colapinto, the only other driver on track with him, spun at Turn 12 and Hamilton had to slow down for the subsequent yellow flags.
Hamilton felt that this problem cost him pole position.
“I was unlucky with the yellow flags, I was up 0.4 seconds,” said the seven-time champion.
“It is the same. The good thing is that the team has taken a step forward with the car, the upgrades have clearly worked. Really grateful to everyone at the factory. It’s not the end of the day. Tomorrow we There will be another shot nearby.”