Saturday, November 23, 2024

Las Vegas GP Qualifying: George Russell takes pole for Mercedes as Max Verstappen edges out Lando Norris

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George Russell produced a stunning lap to claim pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Max Verstappen boosted his chances of sealing the world championship by beating Lando Norris.

After Mercedes had topped all three practice sessions at the stunning street circuit, Russell maintained the Silver Arrows’ impressive pace to edge out Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by almost a tenth of a second.

Pierre Gasly took a shock third for Alpine as the rapidly-improving surface created unpredictable results in the closing stages, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth.

Red Bull’s Verstappen, who can seal a fourth successive drivers’ title by finishing ahead of Norris in the race – live on Sky Sports F1 at 6am on Sunday – edged out Norris by finishing a place ahead of the McLaren in fifth.

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Williams suffer another huge crash as Franco Colapinto loses three wheels from a big impact in Q2

Norris must gain three points on Verstappen to ensure the title battle continues to the penultimate round of the season in Qatar next weekend.

Lewis Hamilton had appeared to be his team-mate Russell’s main rival for pole position after impressing in practice and the early stages of Qualifying, but made errors on each of his flying laps in Q3 and will start 10th.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed to beat Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to seventh, while Nico Hulkenberg was ninth for Haas.

Sergio Perez’s Qualifying struggles continued as the under-pressure Red Bull driver was knocked out in Q1 for the fifth time this season.

Williams’ Franco Colapinto, who has been touted as a possible replacement for Perez if Red Bull decide to make a change next season, potentially harmed his hopes of that move by crashing heavily at the end of Q2 in an incident which caused a 20-minute delay.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying: Top 10

1) George Russell, Mercedes

2) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

3) Pierre Gasly, Alpine

4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

5) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

6) Lando Norris, McLaren

7) Yuki Tsunoda, RB

8) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

9) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas

10) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Russell delivers as Hamilton spurns pole chance

Since claiming three victories in four races before the summer break, Mercedes have struggled to compete for podiums and therefore it came as quite a significant surprise when they topped all three practice sessions under the lights of Las Vegas.

However, they have often been competitive in practice before falling away when it matters most, so doubt remained even as Russell topped Q1 before Hamilton went fastest in Q2.

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George Russell claims pole position at the Las Vegas GP

Hamilton, who has struggled badly in Qualifying this season, blew his first flying lap by locking up and ruining that set of tyres. Then, having limited his opportunity to assess the track conditions after the delay for Colapinto’s crash, the seven-time world champion made another error with his final chance to set a lap and finished 15 seconds off the pace.

Russell produced a fine first flying lap in Q3 to go fastest, but also made an error by brushing a barrier and damaging his front wing to the point it needed changing.

By the time Mercedes had carried out the repairs it was touch and go for Russell to make it to the line before the chequered flag, but he did so and took full advantage of having the best of the improving track conditions to edge out Sainz.

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Karun Chandhok takes a closer look at what went wrong for Lewis Hamilton after he qualified tenth at the Las Vegas GP, while the Mercedes driver believes he should have been on pole.

“It is incredible to be back on pole. We have been so quick all weekend,” Russell said. “I knew coming into that last Q3 lap that would be the one that counts, it doesn’t matter what happened before then.

“I had a bit of a moment on my first run. We had to change my front wing. There was a moment I thought we wouldn’t make the flag.

“We have to do some deep diving to understand why we have been so quick this weekend because it was a real surprise.”

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Toto Wolff believes Mercedes ‘come alive’ in colder conditions in Las Vegas after George Russell took pole

Sainz produced an impressive lap to outpace his Ferrari team-mate Leclerc by almost four tenths of a second.

The Ferraris were split by Gasly, who backed up Alpine’s remarkable two-three finish in the wet in Brazil to further boost their hopes of taking an unlikely sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Verstappen ahead of Norris despite Red Bull wing woes

Verstappen came into the weekend knowing that finishing ahead of Norris would enable him to seal the title with two rounds to spare, but that looked unlikely as Red Bull struggled in practice.

Team principal Christian Horner dismissed reports that Red Bull had brought “the wrong” rear wing to Las Vegas, explaining that they – unlike some rivals – simply don’t have an event-specific low-downforce version of the part.

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Max Verstappen gives his reaction after finishing fifth in Las Vegas qualifying.

Horner’s insistence that the RB20 had the potential to be competitive bore fruit as Verstappen found some pace late in final practice and in the early stages of Qualifying.

The Dutchman never appeared to have the speed to challenge Mercedes, but crucially was able to edge out Norris and make the prospect of the title being won in Las Vegas a realistic one.

There were indications in practice that McLaren possess stronger race pace than Red Bull but with the potential for all sorts of drama on The Strip, the weekend could turn into a special one for Verstappen.

“We tried to do the best we could. We worked well together. We tried a lot of different things to see what was the right direction,” Verstappen said.

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Lando Norris gives his thoughts on Las Vegas Qualifying after he finished sixth, a place behind Max Verstappen

“I think what we did was the right direction but still clearly not enough to fight for pole. I’m still quite happy.

“We are still in front of McLaren, which for me is a bit of a surprise, but I’m quite happy with how Qualifying went and my laps.”

McLaren’s disappointing performance has also given Ferrari a major opportunity to reduce their 36-point lead at the top of the Constructors’ Championship.

The Italian squad clearly had the best long-run pace in practice and are primed to challenge Russell for victory.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying Timesheet

Driver Team Time
1) George Russell Mercedes 1:32.312
2) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.098
3) Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.352
4) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.471
5) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.485
6) Lando Norris McLaren +0.696
7) Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.717
8) Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.721
9) Nico Hulkenberg Haas +0.750
10) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +15.794
Knocked out in Q2
11) Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:33.221
12) Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:33.297
13) Zhou Guanyu Sauber 1:33.566
14) Franco Colapinto Williams 1:33.749
15) Liam Lawson RB 1:34.257
Knocked out in Q1
16) Sergio Perez Red Bull 1:34.155
17) Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:34.258
18) Alex Albon Williams 1:34.425
19) Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:34.430
20) Lance Stroll Haas 1:34.484

Sky Sports F1’s live Las Vegas GP schedule

Sunday November 24
4.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up*
6am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX*
8am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction*
9am: Ted’s Notebook*

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1, where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Stream the final three F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

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