Qualifying report
This had already been seen in the first three free practice sessions of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and confirmation came in the US night’s qualifying: Charles Leclerc proved to be the fastest driver on the Strip street circuit, taking the pole position for tomorrow’s race, finishing ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz and the reigning world champion Max Verstappen, with the Spaniard however starting from the front row due to the ten position penalty inflicted for the battery replacement. Qualifying has already started with the first surprises Q1in particular for the elimination of both McLarens: specifically, Norris was unable to go beyond 16th place, while his teammate Piastri actually finished in penultimate position. Ocon also did poorly, 17th with Alpine and also the protagonist of an argument on the track with Verstappen at the end. Exactly as in Q1, the following session also ended with the Ferraris virtually in the front row, and here too with sensational twists: above all, the elimination of Lewis Hamilton, 11th and excluded from the fight for pole position by just 28 thousandths by the Alfa Romeo of his former teammate Valtteri Bottas. The two Williams and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas were excellent, contributing to Red Bull’s exit from the scene Sergio Perez, 12th and therefore behind the driver with whom the title of vice-world champion will be contested in the last two races. Stroll is also out, with the Canadian 14th but who will have to serve a five-place penalty for overtaking Sainz in PL3 under the yellow flag regime. Ferrari front row, at least on paper, even in the decisive session, with Leclerc taking his fifth pole of the season and the 23rd of his career with a time of 1:32.726spacing alone 44 thousandths his teammate Carlos Sainz. Third, and consequently on the front row tomorrow, Max Verstappen.
1st, Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
“Obviously I’m happy for the pole in this first time in Las Vegas. It’s an incredible event and starting from pole tomorrow is great. However, I’m a bit disappointed with the laps I did in Q3, even though they were enough for 1st place, which was necessary for us. Now let’s try to put everything together in the race and we will have to concentrate because that’s what we usually lack in the race in certain situations, so I hope we can put it together to win. My best lap was in Q2, then track evolution is very important here, so I could have done better in Q3. I didn’t succeed, but let’s start from pole anyway which was the most important one. I came here once to Vegas to party, and it’s very different now. Hopefully we have done enough to be able to win tomorrow and then we can celebrate the victory. In any case it’s fantastic to be here and see so many people in the city for F1, the sport I love, and to see all the work that has gone into making such a great event happen. I hope it’s a winner for us tomorrow.”
2nd, Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
“First of all it was an exceptional job by the whole team. We dominated qualifying after a difficult day like yesterday and managed to get the car back together to monopolize the front row, which is incredible. I certainly would have liked to be first, but I would have started 11th instead of 12th. We did the best we could, but I’m a bit disappointed about yesterday. I’m not going to lie, I’m in a terrible mood about what happened. I try not to show it, but this is the situation. Tomorrow will depend on the start, the graining and how easy it will be to overtake. We seem to have the pace this weekend, although I would like to fight for the win with Charles and Max, but unfortunately I will have to try to catch up. I hope I can fight with them, but I think it will be complicated.”
3rd, Max Verstappen – Red Bull
“It’s very cold and the track is slippery, and being a street circuit you try to get as close as possible to the barriers, so it’s not always linear. It was fun and I think we made the most of our potential all weekend. We lacked pace a bit on the flying lap, and it was also quite clear in qualifying, but I’m hoping for tomorrow’s race. I hope I can manage the tires better and be able to recover some positions. Yesterday the race pace didn’t seem bad, today it didn’t, but the points will be awarded tomorrow and it will be important to do well in the race. There will be a long straight and there will be overtaking opportunities and we hope to be able to manage the tires as best as possible.”
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