George Russell delivered a spectacular performance in the Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying session, securing pole position with a time of 1m 32.312s. The Mercedes driver narrowly edged out Carlos Sainz of Ferrari by just 0.1 seconds, while Pierre Gasly of Alpine impressed with a strong third-place finish. This marks Russell’s first pole since Silverstone in July, ending the streak of Ferrari and McLaren pole positions.
Sainz and Gasly Shine in Qualifying
Carlos Sainz finished second, only a tenth of a second behind Russell, while Pierre Gasly continued to build on Alpine’s success with a stellar third-place result after a strong performance at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc settled for fourth in his Ferrari, while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, both championship contenders, will start from the third row in P5 and P6.
Tsunoda Impresses, Hamilton Makes Mistakes
Yuki Tsunoda had a solid run, finishing seventh in his Red Bull car. Oscar Piastri of McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg of Haas, and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 10. Despite looking strong early on, Hamilton made mistakes in both of his Q3 laps, preventing him from improving his time.
Perez, Alonso, and Stroll Struggle in Qualifying
Sergio Perez had a disappointing qualifying session, lacking grip and confidence, ultimately finishing in P16 and failing to make it past Q1. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin was also out in Q1, finishing in P17, while Lance Stroll ended up in P20 after a required engine component change following a stoppage in FP3.
Albon and Other Drivers Fail to Make It Through
Alex Albon couldn’t secure a better time, finishing P18 after losing a lap time at the end of Q1. Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber was in P19, set to drop five places due to an engine-related grid penalty, allowing Stroll to move up a position.
With Russell taking pole, the Las Vegas Grand Prix promises to be a thrilling race, with Sainz and Gasly poised to challenge for the top spots. Russell will look to maintain his advantage at the front as the race weekend progresses.
