The weather in Vegas was cool, and participants were greeted by an early rise worldwide, curious to see if Mercedes could convert the advantage shown in the third practice into pole position.
The first quick laps of Q1 were dominated by McLaren, then George Russell shone and took the lead. As in previous sessions, Scuderia Ferrari showed strong form, but ultimately, the top three spots were filled by Mercedes and Max Verstappen. Traditionally, the eliminated drivers included Sergio Perez, Alexander Albon, Valtteri Bottas, and the two Aston Martins.
Q2 unfolded similarly to the first round, with Hamilton, Piastri, Verstappen in that order, but to exaggerate slightly, practically anything could have happened in the air. The Mercedes pole was becoming more likely… Hamilton, Sainz, Russell was the order, and just as the session was about to end, it had to be stopped early due to Franco Collapinto's very serious accident. A red flag and waiting followed… Alongside Collapinto, Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Guanyu Zhou, and Liam Lawson did not make it to Q3.
After the postponed Q3's first laps, Russell, Sainz, and Verstappen led the field, which was no surprise. It was also not really surprising that with the final shots completed, George Russell secured a smooth pole position. However, Carlos Sainz's second place and Pierre Gasly's fantastic third place absolutely belong in this category. In the end, the Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying turned into a truly good session, and we hope they carry this form into tomorrow's race!
