Charles Leclerc took pole for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix and put in a brilliant lap on the streets of the circuit that winds through the heart of the city. He beat his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz into second place, but the Spaniard will receive a 10-place grid penalty after having to fit a new battery due to the damage he suffered when his car was hit by a drain cover on Thursday. World champion Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing run and was eliminated in Q2 in 10th place, while his teammate George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. Pierre Gasly finished fifth for Alpine.
With track evolution being crucial on a street circuit that as the session progressed, times dropped as the clock counted down, setting up a shootout on the final lap. Leclerc had set the pace with his first hot lap, with a run of 1 minute 33.021 seconds just two hundredths behind Sainz, with Verstappen in third. The Monegasque driver clearly had a lot of self-confidence. He was one of the first to start his final lap and while he was in an early third place, his middle sector was immense, enough to seal pole with a time of 1:32.726.
Sainz came close, only four hundredths back. Verstappen, who has not been quite at the front all weekend on a circuit he has made clear he does not like, was unable to respond and finished a full three-tenths behind.
Leclerc became the third driver to take pole in Las Vegas. The city hosted two meetings as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1981 and 1982. Carlos Reutemann took pole in 1981, Alain Prost in 1982.
This was Leclerc’s fifth pole of the season. He took pole in Baku and inherited first place in Spa when Verstappen was given a grid penalty and was again fastest in the US and Mexico, but has not yet converted this into a victory. He will be hopeful of another strong performance, but while Ferrari has been promising over one lap, Red Bull will likely still be quicker in terms of race pace.
It is his 23rd career pole, a good score, but one undermined by a low conversion rate of just five wins, indicative of how Ferrari has consistently failed to deliver a sufficiently competitive race car in recent years.
Hamilton seemed unable to get more out of his car and told his team that he simply “couldn’t go any faster”.
Before the session started, F1’s handling of the fallout from Thursday’s practice session debacle had not gone well. Fans attending practice were only able to watch the cars on the track for eight minutes. The first session was abandoned within five laps after Sainz’s Ferrari was violently struck by a water valve cover, ending practice as the FIA had to inspect and confirm the integrity of the other 30 valves on the Strip.
It caused a five-hour delay before FP2 could start at 2:30 am. However, an hour before, fans were told to leave the track because F1, which promotes and organizes the race, had contractual and transport problems keeping their staff on track. Hugely disappointed fans, many of whom had paid huge sums of money to attend, were forced to leave as the second session took place behind closed doors.
On Friday morning, F1 chief Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm released a statement attempting to explain the circumstances behind their decision to ask fans to leave, largely citing safety and security reasons.
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“We have all been to events, such as concerts, competitions and even other Formula 1 races, that have been canceled due to factors such as weather or technical problems,” the statement said. “It's happening, and we hope people will understand it.”
It noticeably didn't contain a single apology in its 650 words. This is believed to be for legal reasons, to avoid the organization being open to lawsuits if it has pleaded guilty. It has been strongly criticized as a further insult to those who could have seen almost no action on the track.
No compensation was offered to fans with three-day tickets, but then Thursday-only ticket holders were promised a $200 voucher to spend at the official Las Vegas GP store. Many fans did not believe this was sufficient compensation, especially since they were online only and did not include shipping costs.
Once racing resumed, Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were an impressive sixth and seventh for Williams, Valtteri Bottas in eighth for Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen in ninth for Haas and Fernando Alonso in tenth for Aston Martin .
Sergio Pérez was 11th for Red Bull, the team having mistimed his runs in Q2. Nico Hülkenberg was 13th of Haas and Lance Stroll was 14th for Aston Martin, but will receive a five-place grid penalty for overtaking under yellow flags during practice. Daniel Ricciardo moved up to 14th for AlphaTauri.
The two McLaren drivers had a poor run, with Lando Norris finishing 15th and Oscar Piastri 18th. Esteban Ocon finished 16th for Alpine. Guanyu Zhou finished 17th for Alfa Romeo and Yuki Tsunoda finished 20th for AlphaTauri.