Las Vegas Qualifying: Leclerc takes pole as Ferrari completes a dominant one-two
On Saturday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen joining him on the front row.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was second fastest in qualifying, with Verstappen third, but the Spaniard has a 10-place grid penalty due to car repairs following a practice incident.
Leclerc was fastest in all three qualifying phases down the floodlit Strip, with its neon backdrop of landmark hotels and casinos, for his third pole in the last four races.
The Monaco driver was still disappointed with his lap times, and his pole time of 1:32.726 was only half a tenth faster than Sainz.
"I didn’t do a good enough job but it was enough for P1 so that’s all we need and now full focus on tomorrow to try to put everything together in the race," he said.
George Russell will start third for Mercedes, with Pierre Gasly starting fourth for Alpine in the first race in Sin City since the 1980s.
The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant qualified fifth and sixth, respectively.
Verstappen abandoned his final lap, knowing he didn't have to beat Sainz on track for a front row spot in his pursuit of a record-extending 18th win of a season whose titles were long decided.
Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas will start seventh, with Kevin Magnussen eighth for Haas and Fernando Alonso ninth for Aston Martin.
Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify for the top ten shootout, finishing 11th, but will move up to 10th due to Sainz's penalty.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull, who can clinch second place overall in the championship this weekend, will start 11th, with Sainz dropping to 12th.
Both McLarens failed to make it through the first phase, with Britain's Lando Norris 16th fastest and Australian rookie teammate Oscar Piastri on the back row in 19th, a setback to their bid to consolidate fourth overall in the standings.
However, both move up one position after Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, who qualified 14th, was given a five-place grid penalty for overtaking while double yellow flags were flying in final practice.
Alpine's Esteban Ocon will start 17th on the grid after nearly colliding with Verstappen at the end.
Over the team radio, Verstappen called the Frenchman an "idiot," while Ocon complained, "It's a joke, honestly - Verstappen diving into turn one like crazy."
Qualifying began at midnight on Friday, making Las Vegas the first grand prix since Japan in 2019 to determine the pole position on the same day as the race.
SportsLigue