Ferrari's Charles Leclerc continued his strong showing by stamping his authority on a 23rd career pole position for the highly anticipated Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, outpacing teammate Carlos Sainz and reigning champion Max Verstappen in a gripping qualifying session.
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Leclerc asserted his dominance by topping all three segments of qualifying, maintaining his position at the summit. Despite Hamilton and Perez's surprising absence from the final session, Leclerc, Sainz, and Verstappen endured an unconventional Q3 marked by slightly sluggish tire performances.
Amidst the tire struggles, Leclerc managed to secure the pole with a lap time of 1m32.726s, marginally quicker than his Q2 performance, something he wasn’t too proud of; the Monegasque feeling he could’ve done a much better lap. Carlos Sainz's attempt to challenge Leclerc was derailed by a 10-place grid penalty incurred for taking a new battery following an FP1 mishap through no fault of his own as a faulty drain cover decimated the underside of his SF23, relegating him from a front-row start.
Verstappen, though within a tenth of Leclerc after the initial Q3 runs, couldn't bridge the gap, settling for a 0.378s difference behind the Ferrari ace. Despite his frustration, Verstappen holds faith in Red Bull's race pace advantage for the main event.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly qualified a splendid fourth place behind Mercedes’ George Russell, who felt he achieved the maximum possible with the package provided, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton admitted he simply couldn’t go any faster as the seven-time champion qualified in 10th.
McLaren faced a catastrophic setback as both cars failed to progress beyond Q1, leaving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the backfoot. The team's strategy of banking on tire performance later in the runs backfired, resulting in an early exit, with Norris expressing his lack of confidence in the car's setup, echoing the team's overall Thursday struggles.
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Amidst the pole position excitement, Williams showcased its strength on Las Vegas' long straights, with both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant securing spots in Q3. Sargeant, amidst a challenging rookie season, capitalised on the home race opportunity, delivering an impressive performance. The pair qualified fifth and sixth, respectively.
The session saw further drama with Lance Stroll potentially facing a double penalty, adding to his woes with a five-place grid drop for FP3 yellow flag infringement. AlphaTauri's sudden slump in pace, evident in Yuki Tsunoda's bottom placement and Daniel Ricciardo's struggles in Q2, highlighted the team's unexpected stumble.
With nearly half the grid unveiling revised liveries, the stage is set for a thrilling race on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Ferrari's Leclerc, despite a deserving 1-2 win being disrupted by Sainz's penalty, leads the pack into the showdown, poised to navigate the glitzy streets of Vegas in pursuit of victory.
