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Las Vegas GP: Charles Leclerc fastest as Ferrari post one-two in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez out early
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Published 18/11/2023 at 11:00 GMT
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz dominated qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Leclerc will start in pole position, while Sainz will start in 12th after being handed a 10-place grid penalty. Champion Max Verstappen could only finish third, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez were eliminated after Q2. “Starting from pole tomorrow is great,” Leclerc said.
Wolff says Vegas GP can 'provide great racing'
Video credit: SNTV
Charles Leclerc finished top of the pile in qualifying ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and both McLaren drivers were eliminated early.
The Ferrari driver will start in pole position in Sunday’s highly anticipated race which returns after more than 40 years, while team-mate Carlos Sainz finished second in a one-two for the Italian team.
However, Sainz, who was at the centre of a controversial practice session on Friday, has a 10-place grid penalty for using too many engine parts.
Practice was aborted after just nine minutes when Sainz’s car suffered damage from a loose manhole cover, but the Spaniard and Leclerc dominated qualifying on Saturday.
“Of course, I’m happy,” Leclerc said at the end of qualifying. “Starting from pole tomorrow is great. However, I’m a bit disappointed in my laps in Q3 but in the end I did a good enough job, it was enough for P1, that’s all we need.
“Now, full focus on tomorrow to try and put everything together in the race. Normally, that’s where we lack most performance, so I hope we can put it all together and win.”
Sainz added: "We did the maximum we could today. I am very disappointed about yesterday.
“I am still in a very bad mood after that, but I am trying not to show it too much."
Leclerc was just 0.044 seconds quicker than Sainz, but the latter will start 12th on the grid on Sunday.
Max Verstappen finished third in qualifying as Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth and Alpine's Pierre Gasly wrapped up the top five.
McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were eliminated after the first qualifying session, while Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu, and Yuki Tsunoda also dropped out and will start Sunday's race at the bottom of the pack.
There was late drama in the closing second of qualifying when Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso dropped from fourth to tenth as Williams duo Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant finished sixth and seventh.
Hamilton and Perez, who were both eliminated following the second qualifying session, finished 11th and 12th respectively but will start one place ahead on the starting grid thanks to Sainz’s penalty.
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