F1 News: Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 in Las Vegas GP Qualifying

Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. were 1-2 in and exciting qualifying session for the 2023 Las Vegas GP.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The Ferraris have been fast all weekend so far and Leclerc put up a lap of 1m32.726s to nip Sainz by 0.044s. However, Sainz will take a 10-grid race penalty for a new power unit and will start 12th.

That will move the 3rd fastest qualifier, Max Verstappen up to the front row.  Verstappen had nothing for the Ferraris and was 0.378s behind.

“Of course, I’m happy – first in Las Vegas, to be starting from pole is great,” said Leclerc. “But I’m disappointed with my laps in Q3, I didn’t do a good job, but it was enough. I hope to put it all together in the race, that’s where we struggle. We are starting from pole, so I can’t complain!”

“First of all an outstanding job by the team – we’ve dominated qualifying after a tough Friday to put the car back together again,” said Sainz.  “Still disappointed from yesterday I’m not going to lie, I’m still in a very bad mood but it is what it is.”

Max Verstappen was disappointed to miss pole but hopes his typical race pace will excel.

“It’s quite cold, quite slippery,” said Verstappen.

“It was enjoyable out there, but I think we maximized today. We’ve been lacking one-lap performance, so I hope for more from the race.”

George Russell was 4th but will start 3rd for Mercedes, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in Q2.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-5 for Alpine, 0.513s behind while the two Williams drivers, Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were 6th and 7th.

Sargeant will be the first American to start in the top ten in a home Grand Prix since Eddie Cheever in Detroit in 1987.

So Leclerc is on pole tomorrow, but he has Verstappen for company. As the Ferrari man said, they tend to struggle more on race day while Red Bull tend to excel… What can the Scuderia find to try and grab a second victory of the season?

Temperatures will play a part, strategy is an unknown – Pirelli have said that it is possible to drive through the tire graining here, and that brings the softs into play. Safety Cars could feature as they often do at street tracks, those looming walls catching out the unwary.

All the variables, so this one is anything but assured.

Albon and Sargeant will not be easy to overtake, as Williams are excellent in a straight line.

After all the negative press about this track, it turned out to be quite spectacular.  Not only was the backdrop spectacular, the long straight will create many overtakes, but the 100% throttle final corner leading onto the pit straight is breathtaking and will be considering one of the greatest corners on the F1 calendar.

The race on Saturday night starts at 10:00pm PT, 1:00am ET.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying Results