Mercedes is back in the spotlight, confirming in qualifying the results from free practice. George Russell clinched his fourth career pole position and third of the season after Canada and Britain. The Silver Star celebrates its 140th pole with an impressive performance from the Englishman: George posted a 1’32″312 on the long straights of Las Vegas with soft tires, improving the track record by four-tenths of a second.
George Russell seemed to have a great connection with the W15: in the dry lap, the Silver Arrow was able to set the pace, managing to bring the tires up to temperature quickly, though there are more doubts about the race pace, which was more inconsistent during the long run. Mercedes had the potential to claim both front-row positions, but Lewis Hamilton made a mistake at Turn 12 during his first Q3 attempt, and then made another error that left him in a disappointing 10th position.
In the front row is Carlos Sainz: the Spaniard is just 98 thousandths behind the top with Ferrari. An unexpected result after free practice, given Ferrari’s difficulty in getting the tires into the optimal operating window, requiring two preparation laps, but the SF-24 seems very competitive over the long run. The Madrid-born driver did not hide his hopes of winning from this grid position. Carlos Sainz has become a sharpshooter at hitting the maximum possible target, while Charles Leclerc, in fourth, struggled with the inability to attack immediately on the flying lap and lost four-tenths, which is a considerable deficit in qualifying.
Ferrari has a great opportunity to recover important points in the Constructors’ Championship, as McLaren was very disappointing. Lando Norris is sixth, while Oscar Piastri is even eighth. They have removed the rear wing on the MCL36, but the car still struggles with tire management. However, the drivers of Andrea Stella’s team shouldn’t be ruled out because the car’s potential is well known.
An incredible surprise between the two Ferraris: Pierre Gasly has climbed up to third place with the Alpine. The Frenchman showed that the second and third places for the Enstone team in Brazil were less of a fluke than they seemed in the wet.
Max Verstappen seemed unsatisfied with his fifth place, but the Dutchman extracted the maximum from the Red Bull, placing ahead of the McLarens. That will be enough for him to secure his fourth World Championship title. Among the surprises of the day is also Nico Hulkenberg, ninth with the Haas, ahead of the disappointing Lewis Hamilton.
Esteban Ocon is the first victim of Q2 with the second Alpine: 11th place is the best he could do with the less developed A524. Kevin Magnussen was also outside the Top 10 with the second Haas: the Danish driver is 12th, ahead of Guanyu Zhou, who made it out of the last row with the Sauber C44, which features several technical updates. The Chinese driver is 13th and hopes to find some motivation, knowing he won’t be in the circus next year.
Franco Colapinto was on track to make it to Q3 with Williams when the Argentine made a mistake at Turn 16, entering too early into a corner that is taken flat out, while he was trying to slipstream Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. The young Franco ended up tearing the front left suspension against the barriers on the left side and then crashed into the outside wall, sliding almost to the next corner with his FW44 destroyed. The damage was significant, following the $3 million that Grove’s team had to absorb with three damaged cars in the Brazilian GP.
The 21-year-old made a serious misjudgment, and it is uncertain if Williams will be able to field him for the race tomorrow, as the team has very few spare parts for the last three races of the season. Franco Colapinto can only take solace in being ahead of his teammate again, but it is a meager consolation, as the boy is undeniably fast but crashes too easily: the impact with the barrier was impressive, as it even shifted the wall. The start of Q3 was delayed because track marshals had to restore the necessary safety conditions.
Liam Lawson with the Racing Bulls did not impress: the New Zealander is only 15th. The team expected more from the car, which uses the rear suspension of the Red Bull RB20.
Sergio Perez’s elimination in Q1 no longer surprises anyone, as it’s his sixth this season: the Mexican will start 16th, having been outpaced by Liam Lawson by just 78 thousandths. Perez’s time at Red Bull seems to be coming to an end, as he no longer seems capable of giving the Milton Keynes team a crucial boost.
Both Aston Martins continued their negative run: Fernando Alonso is 17th, while Lance Stroll will be forced to start from the very back of the grid. The Canadian only managed to get on track in time for one lap before the checkered flag after an issue with his hybrid system that had stopped him in FP3. Lance couldn’t create any magic with a car that isn’t working and continues his tough period, as he had crashed in Brazil before the race.
Alexander Albon made a mistake and will start 18th with Williams: the Anglo-Thai driver paid a high price for a small error and will be 18th, ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who couldn’t put together a clean lap with the highly developed Sauber C44.
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