Leclerc on pole position in Las Vegas, Sainz by one thousandth

Fernando Alonso He made it to Q3 but failed on his final lap, so he will start ninth tomorrow. Wanting to get his eighteenth win of the season, Max Verstappen did not display a sharp attitude as usual and came thirdHowever, Sainz’s penalty left him second in the standings.

Q1: Double knockout for McLaren

It only has five brakes but is very powerful after long straights. HE Las Vegas circuit forces the tires to tighten as much as possible At every bend on a straight road without wasting time. The first day was very much in Ferrari’s favor and when the going got tough, qualifying started with a clear lead for Leclerc and Sainz.

[Clasificación del Mundial de Fórmula 1]

The two Maranello drivers took the lead in the first quarter and were the only drivers to drop below the 1.34 mark (1.33.617 for the Monegasque, the Spaniard 2 tenths behind). Verstappen, less relaxed than usual, took advantage. With the improvement of the track, provisional third place was achieved and Fernando Alonso passed the race in tenth place.

Teammate Lance Stroll, who was penalized five places on the grid after Free Practice 3, also guaranteed a place in the next round, and Ocon and Zhou did not take part in this round. Tsunoda and… first surprise, two McLarens! Norris and Piastri, who started from the front among the pole candidates, were eliminated at the first opportunity.

S2: Pérez and Hamilton withdraw from fight

While Leclerc and Sainz cautiously started the second quarter on used tyres, Alonso did so on new tyres. Sainz put the first reference on the track (1.33.146) Despite nine laps for their Pirellis, this gave an idea of ​​Ferrari’s dominance in Las Vegas. Alonso surpassed this time in his first attempt and took the lead (1.33.880).

The second lap once again showed that Leclerc was fastest on the ‘Strip’ and the Monegasque still had plenty of room for improvement (1.32.775). Russell finished third, with Sainz half a second behind his teammate. Alonso took fifth place.

[Calenario de la temporada de la Fórmula 1]

There was also a coup this round: Hamilton and Pérez out of pole positionWith Hülkenberg, Stroll and Ricciardo. The seven-time Mercedes champion was confident not to resort to new tyres, and unlike his teammate, his strategy went wrong.

Q3: Leclerc’s pole position

The final fight for pole began with unexpected guests such as Magnussen, Bottas or Williams with Albon and American Sargeant.

Leclerc maintained his lead at the first attempt (1.33.021); Sainz was closer than ever by 22 thousandths and Verstappen was within the same tenth. Alonso started fourth with good feeling on used tyres, ahead of Russell.

In the last attack, pole position was given to Leclerc. Sainz 1 in 44 thousand, despite being penalized 10 places on the grid for him sewer incident. A shame. Verstappen abandoned his decisive lap to finish third, while Alonso dropped to tenth but will start the race ninth on Sunday due to Sainz’s suspension.