Russell won the pole in Las Vegas; Checo Pérez qualified P16
Max Verstappen will start ahead of Lando Norris, and if he finishes the race like this, he would be world champion
LAS VEGAS.- George Russell took pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024 of the F1after overcoming a contact in Q3 and setting the best time with his Mercedes.
In contrast, the pilot Sergio Perez of Red Bull He was eliminated in Q1 and will start on Saturday from sixteenth position on the grid.
This was the sixth time this season that Czech Perez he remains in Q1, now affected by the rear wing of his RB20which subtracted a lot of performance on the straight and by trimming it to release that aerodynamic load, gave it grip problems in slow corners.
For Russel It was the fourth pole position of his life in the F1 and the third of the 2024 season. Earlier this year, he had achieved the rope position in Montreal and Silverstone. the first of his career was in Hungary 2022.
Spanish will start in second place. Ferrari, Carlos Sainzwhile third place went surprisingly to Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
The favorites, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen They placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Q1: Checo Pérez, out
The particularity of the Las Vegas track, where the asphalt is very slippery due to lack of rubber and a lot of dust, combined with the low temperatures, makes finding the optimal window of tire performance vital to setting a good time.
Likewise, contrary to other circuits, here the teams choose to allow the cars more laps in qualifying, precisely in search of that moment of grace and temperature.
The best time in Q1 was for George Russell, who confirmed Mercedes’ good time in Las Vegas, followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton and with the surprising Max Verstappen, who managed to overcome the difficulties faced by Red Bull with the rear wing of the RB20.
For his part, the Mexican teammate of the three-time champion and who aspires to be four in Las Vegas, could not advance to Q2. The configuration of his car was not close to Max’s.
Checo Pérez’s first attempt was to clock 1:34.879 and the second, three laps with the same soft tires, was 1:34.612, which placed him dangerously close to the elimination zone.
Checo Pérez stayed on the track for one more attempt since the route is evolving very quickly and the conditions vary dramatically every minute.
His third and final attempt with the same game improved to 1:34.115 and although it had momentarily put him in 8th position, the other drivers’ times demoted him to 16th place and he was eliminated.
“I couldn’t find any grip,” Perez said disappointedly over the radio to his engineer at the end of the session.
1.- Russell
2.- Hamilton
3.- Verstappen
4.- Leclerc
5.- Piastri
6.- Sainz
7.- Norris
8. Gasly
9.- Colapinto
10.- Tsunoda
11.- Hulkenberg
12 Ocon
13. Magnussen
14.- Zhou
15.- Lawson
Eliminated
16.- Pérez
17.- Alonso
18.- Albon
19.- Bottas
20.- Stroll
Q2: Colapinto’s mistake and his participation in the race is in danger
In Q2 there was an unfortunate accident involving Franco Colapinto, who practically destroyed his Williams, when he was closing his last attempt to try to get into Q3. The Argentine attacked turn 16, penultimate of the circuit, too hard, and hit the wall with his left front tire, then violently projected himself over the wall on the right, which left his car practically destroyed.
It must be remembered that Williams worked hard to put the two cars on the track in Las Vegas, after both Alex Albon and Colapinto had serious mishaps in Brazil two weeks ago.
Big impact for Franco Colapinto but he’s okay and out of the car 👍#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/glPNzell1L
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024
His engineer ordered him to close the lap, as if hoping there would be no setbacks, but a very big one occurred.
Colapinto got out of the car on his own. The place on the grid for the South American driver would be 14th, but it will depend on his team being able to repair his car and have the elements to leave it ready.
Meanwhile, the fastest in Q2 was once again a Mercedes, now Hamilton’s, followed by Carlos Sainz and his teammate Russell.
1.- Hamilton
2.- Sainz
3.- Russell
4.- Gasly
5.- Leclerc
6.- Piastri
7.- Verstappen
8.- Tsunoda
9.- Norris
10.- Hulkenberg
Eliminated
11.- Ocon
12.- Magnussen
13.- Zhou
14.- Colapinto
15.- Lawson
Q3: Pole position went to a Mercedes
After a 25-minute break to remove debris from Franco Colapinto’s Williams and to repair the barrier where he crashed, Q3 started late.
Q3, exciting as always, saw the frustration of Lewis Hamilton, who saw his two attempts to cross the track limits erased, but at the same time the fight between the Ferraris with Russell, Verstappen and the surprising Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
It was at the last breath that Russell took pole position
1.- George Russell
2.- Carlos Sainz
3.- Pierre Gasly
4.- Charles Leclerc
5.- Max Verstappen
6.- Lando Norris
7.- Yuki Tsunoda
8.- Oscar Piastri
9.- Niko Hulkenberg
10.- Lewis Hamilton
