Grand Prix of Las Vegas: Leclerc takes pole

Dark. Dry. Air +15C, highway +17C

The first qualifying on a new circuit is always interesting. Especially if it is a fast city highway, surrounded by barriers with new smooth asphalt.

The balance of power changed over the weekend as the teams got into the settings, but the cars still slid in the braking zones, meaning no one was actively attacking in practice.

The first session lasted just eight minutes, after which the concrete base of the drainage system hatch collapsed and opened, damaging three cars. Carlos Sainz had to replace parts of the power plant – and he lost ten places at the start. Lance Stroll lost five places after being overtaken under yellow flags.

The second training, postponed due to track repairs, started at half past three in the morning and lasted 90 minutes instead of 60, but without fans in the stands – they were literally kicked out so as not to violate union demands for the duration of service of security personnel and bus drivers. The third training went smoothly.

Pirelli brought the softest tires to the podium – C3, C4 and C5 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles, but the riders used almost no hard tires during training – which turned out to be too hard on the cold asphalt.

Qualifying started at midnight local time, on the same day as the race, which did not comply with the regulations, but the stewards agreed that qualifying took place on Saturday and the race on Sunday, although it also took place on Saturday.

In the first session everyone went to Soft. There were no incidents. Piastri hit the barrier with his right rear wheel without any consequences for the car. Tsunoda, Russell and Norris had their laps disallowed due to infringement.

Leclerc set the best time, completing a lap in 1:33.617. Both McLaren drivers, as well as Ocon, Zhou and Tsunoda, unexpectedly dropped out of the further battle.

In the second session everyone went to Soft. In the first attempt Alonso led the timesheet, in the second everything improved and Leclerc was again the best with a lap time of 1:32.775. Hamilton, Perez, Hulkenberg, Stroll and Ricciardo did not qualify for the final.

In the final everyone went to Soft. On the first attempt, Leclerc set the best time, while Albon, Sargent and Bottas missed it. In the second, Charles remained the leader, three tenths ahead of his nearest rivals.

Charles Leclerc won qualifying in Las Vegas and took the 23rd pole of his career and the fifth of the season.

Carlos Sainz showed the second fastest time – Ferrari could have occupied the entire front row of the starting field for the 84th time in history, but the Spaniard is fined and loses ten places at the start, leaving Verstappen to start second.

Logan Sargent’s seventh-place finish was the best of his career.

Leclerc and Verstappen start the race from the front row, Russell and Gasly from the second row, Albon and Sargent from the third row. The results are more than unexpected.

Qualifying results