Leclerc Takes Pole Position for Las Vegas Grand Prix
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.
Leclerc will start ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and George Russell (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Leclerc dominated qualifying, setting the fastest time in all three segments. He was particularly impressive in Q3, where he improved his own lap record to 1:32.726s.
Sainz was second fastest in qualifying, but he will drop down to 12th on the grid due to a 10-place grid penalty for replacing power unit components after his car was wrecked by hitting a loose water valve cover in FP1.
Verstappen will start alongside Leclerc on the front row. The Dutchman was third fastest in qualifying, but he was less than half a second off Leclerc's pace.
Russell will start third, ahead of Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Alex Albon (Williams), Logan Sargeant (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 19, 2023.
Here is the full qualifying result:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:32.726 | - |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:32.770 | 0.044 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1:33.104 | 0.378 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:33.112 | 0.386 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1:33.239 | 0.513 |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1:33.323 | 0.597 |
| 7 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1:33.513 | 0.787 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1:33.525 | 0.799 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1:33.537 | 0.811 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1:33.555 | 0.829 |