George Russell put his Mercedes on pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix as team-mate Lewis Hamilton faltered to qualify only 10th. As Russell saw off Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by just 0.098sec to land top spot in Sin City, Hamilton was left to rue two mistakes which leaves him way down the order.
Pierre Gasly took a surprise third for Alpine, one place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris must outscore Max Verstappen by at least three points to extend the title battle to the penultimate race in Qatar, but the British driver will start one place behind the Dutchman in sixth.
Mercedes have looked quick all weekend with the cold conditions suiting their machinery, and while Russell landed a fourth pole of his career, Hamilton – three weeks after the horror show in Brazil which left him wondering whether to call a premature end to his career with the Silver Arrows – was unable to deliver.
Hamilton made a mistake at Turn 12 on his first attempt in Q3, and was forced to abandon the lap. The seven-time world champion returned for his final assault but ran wide in the early part of the lap, and did not trouble the scorers with a time.
Russell whacked the wall on the exit of Turn 5 on his opening attempt and had to change his front wing but the Englishman, who now boasts a 17-5 record over Hamilton in qualifying this season, kept his cool to see off Sainz’s challenge.
“We have been so quick all weekend, and I just knew coming into Q3 that lap would be the one that counts,” said Russell.
“We have got to do some deep diving as to why we have been so quick this weekend because it has been a surprise. I knew if I did a clean lap it would be enough to secure a front-row position and to be on pole is incredible.”
Sergio Perez endured another miserable outing after he was eliminated in Q1 for the sixth time this season.
Perez has a contract with Red Bull for another season but his future is in serious doubt such is his patchy form. He will line up 16th on Saturday night after he was usurped by RB’s Liam Lawson – the New Zealander who could yet replace him next year.
The operator of the Sphere – an entertainment venue which is lit by 1.23 million LED pucks – poked fun at Perez’s demise by displaying a hologram of the Mexican driver, who has not been on the podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix, signalling a thumbs down.
There were glum faces on the Williams pit-wall, too, after Franco Colapinto wrecked his Williams.
Colapinto crashed out of the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the Argentine was back in the wall in the closing moments of Q2.
Colapinto clipped the kerb on the entry to the 130mph chicane, propelling him into the barrier on the opposing side of the circuit. Colapinto emerged unscathed but the same could not be said for his battered Williams. The start of Q3 was delayed by 20 minutes as the barriers were repaired.
08:00 AM GMT
And a reminder of the drivers’ standings
If Verstappen leaves Las Vegas with a 60-point lead (or more) over Norris then he is champion. Norris, then needs to finish ahead of him at least.
07:55 AM GMT
A reminder of those constructors’ standings
07:53 AM GMT
Lando Norris reacts to sixth
“No chance [of pole]. Probably just the top three, four out of reach. Both Red Bull and ourselves a decent chunk behind and that showed today. We expected a little bit more than where we were, that’s for sure. We’re struggling every corner with something different. It’s too much of a challenge with our car. When you’re trying to find lap time but also not go over the limit it’s a difficult balance.”
On the championship:
“I’ll do everything I can, of course. I’m not going to give up until the end even though the chances are extremely thin. It’s a long race, many things can happen. We’re quick in the straights so hopefully that can come to our advantage.”
07:51 AM GMT
Carlos Sainz speaks
07:49 AM GMT
Lewis Hamilton: ‘It is what it is’
“It is what it is, it’s been a good weekend so far. I’ll give it by best shot tomorrow but congrats to George. Conditions were great, it’s been really good all weekend. I’m really quite far back so I’ll just see what I can do from there. Degradation is going to be key, we had an eventful race here last year.”
Another tough session for Hamilton. He made mistakes on both of his runs and that was the difference. He has been making quite a few recently. As he has outright said, he is looking forward to this season being over and you can see why.
07:46 AM GMT
Toto Wolff speaks
“Our car just comes alive when there’s a lack of grip and when it’s cold and it’s good to see that. It’s a relative game, the feedback from our drivers is that it feels OK and you hear much more feedback from the other drivers that there is a lack of grip.
“Let’s see what we can do tomorrow. We haven’t really seen it, I think Leclerc was the quickest on a long run yesterday. This is really going to be about making sure the tyres don’t grain and taking from there. Any top team can win tomorrow.”
07:42 AM GMT
Speaking of constructors’ standings
A poor qualifying session by McLaren gives Ferrari a chance at closing down the gap to the leaders.
36 points the gap currently. If they finish where they start that gap would roughly halve to 18 points, depending on where the fastest lap point went. A lot of pressure on McLaren…
07:35 AM GMT
Gasly reacts to this third
It’s unbelievable. We didn’t think we’d be able to get into the top threw in quali. A lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement. I knew it was a good lap… really happy. I was getting cold in the car, we had to wait so long before Q3 I just wanted to get going. The car felt great, it’s incredible for the team following the double podium in Brazil.
Another good opportunity for Alpine to score a hefty points haul tomorrow. They are in a fight with Haas and RB for sixth in the constructors and currently lead the former by three points and the latter by five.
07:32 AM GMT
Why Hamilton’s last lap time was deleted
07:31 AM GMT
Russell reacts to a fourth career pole
“Honestly, absolutely not. It feels incredible to be back on pole… I just knew coming into that last Q3 lap that was as what counts, it doesn’t matter what happens before then. We had to change the front wing, for a moment I didn’t think we [were going to make it]. You’ve got to put it on the table sometimes. I felt confident in myself, I knew if I did a clean lap it would be enough to secure a front row.”
07:26 AM GMT
That was a tight battle for the McLarens
Albeit they were fighting an RB and a Haas, rather than Ferrari and Mercedes. Just 0.054sec separated Norris in sixth from Hulkenberg in ninth. Not really sure what happened to them. That is a poor qualifying. Not sure if it’s their worst of the season but it surely must be their worst for quite a while.
07:25 AM GMT
Q3 – Classification
RUS 1:32.312
SAI +0.098
GAS +0.352
LEC +0.471
VER +0.485
NOR +0.696
TSU +0.717
PIA +0.721
HUL +0.750
HAM +15.794
07:24 AM GMT
GEORGE RUSSELL TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX
Yes he does! Less than a tenth of a second faster than Sainz but that is all it needs! A superb lap under pressure.
Hamilton only 10th making a mess of both laps. His second hot lap was deleted after the first one included a big mistake.
Sainz second, Gasly third in the end.
07:23 AM GMT
Q3 – Hamilton only 10th!
Sainz onto provisional pole! Gasly onto the front row for now…
Verstappen fourth! Russell is currently fifth… can he improve?
07:22 AM GMT
Q3 – Piastri improves to third
A consistent lap. Norris moves onto the front row but Leclerc goes onto provisional pole! Russell needs to find something here…
07:21 AM GMT
Q3 – Piastri a couple of tenths down in sector one
He lost time in the later part of the lap, I believe so that may not be a terrible time. Leclerc a long way back after sector one, too. Was there a mistake? These sector times are not getting much quicker. Norris three-tenths down on Russell after two sectors. Leclerc does go quickest of all in sector two, though…
07:20 AM GMT
Q3 – Final runs under way
Replays show Russell hit the wall on his previous run. Not heavily but it wasn’t exactly a light kiss, either.
A quick front wing change for George after his tussle with the wall
Both drivers head out with new Softs on
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 23, 2024
07:18 AM GMT
Q3 – Russell wants to be at the back of the pack on the final runs
There is a lot of lap time for most of these runners to find. Leclerc slid through turn seven and ended up a second down nearly.
07:17 AM GMT
Q3 – Order and gaps after the first runs
RUS 1:32.811
SAI +0.211
VER +0.404
NOR +0.426
PIA +0.709
GAS +0.814
HUL +0.960
LEC +0.986
TSU +1.246
HAM +15.295
07:16 AM GMT
Q3 – Verstappen looks in contention here
Well, after two sectors he does anyway. Still plenty of time left in this lap and indeed the session. Verstappen moves second, but 0.193sec off Sainz’s time.
Russell, though, beats them all and becomes the first man in Q3 to set a 1:32 lap time.
What happened to Hamilton’s lap? He locked up and went straight on somewhere… he returns to the pits having not set a representative lap time.
07:14 AM GMT
Q3 – It’s a 1:33.520sec for Piastri
Not a great lap, really. Much slower than where he was in Q2. Norris goes 0.283sec faster than Piastri. Leclerc is slower than both of them but Sainz is on a flyer…
Yep it is a fine lap. Sainz beats Norris by two tenths to move quickest of all.
07:13 AM GMT
Q3 – Piastri with a good first sector
Norris pretty much matches it, as does Leclerc. Sainz beats it, though, by about a tenth…
07:11 AM GMT
Q3 begins!
12 minutes. Not really sure who will get pole here. Mercedes look strong. If Russell or Hamilton nail their lap it will probably be one of them. We haven’t seen all McLaren have got, I do not think.
07:08 AM GMT
We are nearly ready go get going
Just over a minute until Q3 and the pole position shoot-out begins.
07:05 AM GMT
Barrier repairs completed
The track is just having a final sweep and then we should be under way shortly.
06:56 AM GMT
How Colapinto’s car currently looks
06:54 AM GMT
Sergio Perez speaks
“I did definitely want more from today. It felt like we were making progress but not enough. Tomorrow the race pace looks a lot more competitive than [it was] early on, so looking forward to it.”
06:51 AM GMT
A big effort to get those cars ready for this race
A shame that it ends like this.
We are also looking at barrier repairs here as well as the debris all over the track. That could be a significant delay.
06:48 AM GMT
A lot of debris to clear up
The start of Q3 will be delayed. By how long, not sure but I don’t think it will be that immediate.
06:45 AM GMT
Q2 – Classification
HAM 1:32.567
SAI +0.144
RUS +0.212
GAS +0.312
LEC +0.449
PIA +0.457
VER +0.518
TSU +0.522
NOR +0.532
HUL +0.547
ELIMINATED:OCO
MAG
ZHO
COL
LAW
06:44 AM GMT
Colapinto just clipped the wall on the inside…
And that spat him out into the barrier at the other end of the chicane, making a real mess of his FW46. The first crash of the weekend, remarkably.
06:43 AM GMT
Q2 – COLAPINTO CRASHES!
We cut to a camera showing the Williams sliding down the track with the front and rear caved in and the wheels all over the place. That is the end of his session and another expensive crash for a team who has had many of them this season and especially recently.
That will be the end of the session.
What happened, though?
06:41 AM GMT
Q2 – Piastri improves
He’s into fourth and 0.143sec off Russell who remains the fastest man. In fact he improves his lap time by a few tenths on his latest run. That said, Hamilton beats that shortly after.
Zhou puts in a lap good enough for 11th… for now.
06:40 AM GMT
Q2 – Top 10 and gaps
RUS 1:32.881
HAM +0.084
LEC +0.135
VER +0.204
NOR +0.218
PIA +0.256
SAI +0.267
HUL +0.392
TSU +0.603
MAG +0.640
Gasly, Colapinto, Ocon, Lawson and Zhou in the drop zone.
06:38 AM GMT
Q2 – McLaren not really anywhere in this session so far
Norris’s first sector on his latest hot lap isn’t brilliant and he is nearly half a second off after two sectors. Don’t know if he will abort this lap but it doesn’t look like he has. He does find some time in the final sector, though to move fifth from seventh.
06:36 AM GMT
Q2 – Five minutes remain
Russell has just moved fastest, Hamilton just behind him and Leclerc then moves into third. Sainz’s first hot lap was not brilliant. He is down in sixth 0.267sec off Russell. Not awful by any means, though.
06:34 AM GMT
Q2 – Looks like a competitive lap from Verstappen
He has not had many of those so far this weekend. He goes fastest of all by 0.051sec. So 0.052sec separating the top three and 0.188sec the top five.
These lap times will tumble, though.
06:33 AM GMT
Q2 – Early order
HAM
PIA
VER
NOR
HUL
TSU
MAG
RUS
GAS
COL
Ocon, Lawson, Zhou and the two Ferraris in the drop zone but the Ferraris have not set a lap time yet.
06:32 AM GMT
Q2 – Verstappen into third
Within a tenth of Hamilton. Piastri into second, within a thousandth of Hamilton. Good stuff, this. Enjoying it, even at this strange hour for a Stateside race.
06:30 AM GMT
Q2 – Hamilton leads the way
Hulkenberg 0.137sec behind him, just before Norris slots into second, a hundredth of a second or so ahead of the German Haas river.
06:30 AM GMT
Ouch
Bit brutal Formula One’s own Twitter account trolling Sergio Perez after his Q1 exit, posting a picture of the Mexican giving himself a thumbs-down on The Sphere. Sixth time this year Perez has gone out in Q1.
06:28 AM GMT
Q2 begins – 15 mins remain
Ferrari were the pre-weekend favourites but Mercedes seem to be the team to be over one lap so far.
06:26 AM GMT
Q2 is about to begin
It will be fascinating. It’s close up front and pretty much everywhere else, too.
06:24 AM GMT
Zhou’s best qualifying performance for quite a while
20th in the last eight races before this, but he is now through to Q2.
06:22 AM GMT
Q1 – Classification
RUS 1:33.186
HAM +0.039
VER +0.113
LEC +0.260
PIA +0.264
SAI +0.298
NOR +0.406
GAS +0.505
COL +0.560
TSU +0.603
HUL +0.734
OCO +0.782
MAG +0.805
ZHO +0.893
LAW +0.901
06:21 AM GMT
Q1 ends – drivers out
PER, ALO, ALB, BOT, STR
06:20 AM GMT
Q1 – Mercedes exchanging lap times at the top of the timesheets
Hamilton first and then Russell, by 0.039sec. Verstappen is in third and is not out on track.
His team-mate Perez back in the bottom five and looking at his first sector times he is not on another hot lap. That is Perez out!
06:19 AM GMT
Q1 – Perez goes 12th
Will that be enough? Maybe, but it looks doubtful. Only needs four drivers below him to improve and for him not to and it’s curtains for his qualifying session.
06:18 AM GMT
Q1 – All 20 cars on track
Aston Martin have done a sterling job to get their man out there. Perez has a dodgy first sector. His second sector isn’t brilliant, either. He may well have another go at this, though.
Here’s the current top 10:
VER
RUS
LEC
PIA
SAI
NOR
HAM
GAS
HUL
MAG
06:16 AM GMT
Q1 – Magnussen into the top 10
Hulkenberg too, in ninth. Perez has now been dropped into the elimination zone as Zhou moves up. These are the sorts of tracks where the Mexican normally excels. He has not done a lot of excelling recently, though.
Verstappen goes fastest by 0.064sec, just ahead of Russell.
06:15 AM GMT
Q1 – Four mins remain
Bottas, Ocon, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Stroll in the drop zone. The last three of that group have yet to set a lap time but the two Haas cars are now out on track.
06:13 AM GMT
Q1 – Half-decent is a good work to describe that lap
Pretty tidy from Verstappen but he’s fourth, 0.350sec off Piastri’s best time of the session so far. Russell then moves fastest by just less than a tenth of a second from Piastri. Would be good to see Mercedes fighting for a win here again.
06:13 AM GMT
Q1 – Current top 10
PIA
SAI
NOR
LEC
HAM
TSU
ALO
RUS
VER
ALB
Verstappen on a half-decent lap…
06:12 AM GMT
Q1 – What can Ferrari do?
Well, Leclerc goes fastest of all but is then nudged down by the McLarens on their second hot laps. Significantly, in fact. About 0.350sec in Norris’s case and half a second in Piastri’s case. The Australian sits at the top of the standings. No action from either Haas nor Lance Stroll whose Aston Martin is being rebuilt after an issue in final practice.
06:10 AM GMT
Q1 – Verstappen about to finish his first flyer
It’s… OK. Fifth and just under three-tenths behind Piastri’s fastest time. Albon completes a good lap, just a smidgen behind Verstappen, his former team-mate (that seems like a long time ago).
06:09 AM GMT
Q1 – Indeed an Alpine at the top did not last long
The McLarens are the ones now ahead, with Piastri 0.03sec ahead of team-mate Lando Norris. Hamilton and Russell are between 0.18sec and 0.29sec behind them respectively in third and fourth.
06:07 AM GMT
Q1 – Alpine leading the way so far
Gasly with a 1:34.058 but I am not sure that will stay there for long…
06:06 AM GMT
Q1 – Zhou leads the way so far
Only really two drivers to have set a representative lap time, though, with the rest doing one out lap, one preparation lap to get the tyres up to temperature and then their hot lap, which are beginning now.
06:04 AM GMT
Q1 – Mercedes out there on medium tyres
This is apparently to scrub them for (potential) use in the race tomorrow.
06:01 AM GMT
GREEN LIGHT: Q1 is go!
Plenty of cars out there early on, as you would expect. The track does look rather good under the lights.
06:00 AM GMT
Good morning F1 fans
Welcome to our live coverage for today’s qualifying session for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. It’s the second event at this track and whilst there were a few organisational problems and challenges with the maiden edition, the race was actually pretty good in the end. Let’s hope for more of that this weekend.
It looks likely that this will be the weekend that Max Verstappen confirms his fourth world drivers title for Red Bull. For most of the season Lando Norris had been trying to reel him in (and partly succeeding) but a topsy turvey weekend in Brazil when the Dutchman won in the rain put the title almost within his grasp. It was a big ask but it would have been nice for it to at least go down to the final round.
So far in the three practice sessions we have had a Mercedes at the top of the timesheets. That has not happened very much at all in the past three seasons but perhaps the peculiarities of the track and conditions are playing into their hands. In FP3 George Russell was fastest and in both of Friday’s sessions it was Lewis Hamilton.
Whilst they made a breakthrough of sorts in the middle of the season with three victories, they have fallen back to being the fourth quickest team in recent times. Maybe Hamilton will have one last shot at victory with the Silver Arrows before he departs for Ferrari.
Anyway, qualifying starts about now and we will be here for all of the live updates and reaction from it.
