George Russell secured pole position at the Las Vegas Grand Prix with a spectacular final lap, narrowly edging out Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by a mere 0.098 seconds. The tense qualifying session saw Alpine’s Pierre Gasly pull off an unexpected result, taking third place, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth after a session filled with mistakes. Max Verstappen, leading the title race, took fifth place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who is still in contention for the championship.
Shock and Awe in the Top 10
Russell’s pole was the first that Mercedes has seen since the British Grand Prix back in July, and he was of course thrilled by it. “It feels incredible to be back on pole,” Russell said. “We had been so fast the whole weekend and I thought the Q3 lap would be the one to actually matter. Sometimes you have to put it on the table, though. I was confident in myself, I knew if I did a clean lap out of it would be enough to secure a front row, but we need to turn it into a win now.”
Behind the front-runners, there would be a final shootout delayed by almost 30 minutes after Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams into the retaining wall in the second qualifying session. On resumption of action, it emerged that a few drivers, among them Lewis Hamilton, had not reached anywhere near their real potential.
Qualifying Blues of Hamilton
Despite showing strong pace throughout the weekend, Hamilton was left disappointed, finishing in 10th place. He had topped the second qualifying session but struggled to extract the final bit of performance on his final run, a pattern that has plagued his season. Hamilton, usually a contender for pole, could only reflect on missed opportunities as his Mercedes teammate, Russell, celebrated his pole.
Ferrari’s Mixed Day
Charles Leclerc, another frontrunner, was also not having a great time. He couldn’t complete the first run by messing up the lap, and on his final try, he couldn’t muster the speed he had been expecting. So close did the performance feel at times, but fourth was the best that Leclerc could do after a messy shambles of an outing.
Verstappen Keeps His Position
World champion and title leader Max Verstappen achieved some scant consolation by scoring fifth place on a rather quiet day for Red Bull. Championship rival Lando Norris went only one better in sixth, and he can still only pull back the difference by beating Verstappen in Sunday’s race to stay alive for a final round showdown in Qatar.
McLaren and Others Fade
McLaren’s hopes of a better result also ended in the shootout. Though Norris had been in competitive times in the other two sessions, he was 0.211 seconds slower than Verstappen when it mattered. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, had to settle for eighth with Yuki Tsunoda out of Red Bull snatching seventh place. Nico Hülkenberg from Haas ensured that the top 10 were completed by Hamilton, who is in tenth position.
The Road Ahead
With Russell on pole, it looks set to be a thriller of a race in the Las Vegas Grand Prix with plenty of contenders vying for position. Mercedes would rely on Russell’s ability to convert his pole into a win, while Verstappen will look to protect his lead in the title race as the season reaches its final stretch.
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