Mercedes and Ferrari will start the race in the first row as Max Verstappen closes in on a fourth Driver’s Championship.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, U.S.A.—George Russell has not had many poles in his career. But in Las Vegas Saturday night, he achieved his goal by posting a 1:32:312 fastest time to take pole for Sunday evening’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished second in his Ferrari, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took his best grid position of his career by ending up in third.
George Russell: It feels incredible to be back on the pole.
By the end of the last round, Russell had no trouble achieving the best time on his flying lap, coming in with just a few minutes left in the session. Both Russell and his Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, dominated the first two sessions.
Charles Leclerc, who achieved the pole here last season, took fourth in the second Ferrari, as Max Verstappen was next in his Red Bull, qualifying ahead of his main rival from McLaren, Lando Norris, who took sixth. Verstappen only needs to finish ahead of the Briton to win his fourth title.
Yuki Tsunoda was placed in the top ten again, with a seventh position, with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri finishing eighth. Haas F1’s Nico Hulkenberg took ninth, with Hamilton tenth. On the flip side, there were big disappointments for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who was knocked out of the first round, along with the Aston Martin’s of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Most of the evening was accident-free until just before the conclusion of the second session. The Williams of Franco Colapinto clipped the concrete barrier, causing a 25-minute delay before the final session as marshals cleaned up the debris over the road.
Russell was worried that a last-minute adjustment on his car would not get him out on time for another flying lap. “I had a moment on my first run, and we had to change the front wing. So, for a while, I didn’t think we would make the flag, but I am just so happy (we did),” Russell said.
Typically, the race would be on a Sunday, but this event will be held on Saturday evening beginning at 10 PM local time and will be shown on ESPN at 1:00 AM eastern.
