Charles Leclerc on pole

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.

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc on pole

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.”

Max Verstappen will start 2nd but look out for the Dutchman in the race
Max Verstappen will start 2nd but look out for the Dutchman in 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.

Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14 during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14 for the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.617 1:32.775 1:32.726 23
2 55 Carlos Sainz Jr.* Ferrari 1:33.851 1:33.338 1:32.770 23
3 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:34.190 1:33.572 1:33.104 19
4 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.137 1:33.351 1:33.112 22
5 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 1:34.272 1:33.494 1:33.239 25
6 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 1:34.634 1:33.588 1:33.323 21
7 2 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes 1:34.525 1:33.733 1:33.513 23
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:34.305 1:33.809 1:33.525 19
9 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:34.337 1:33.664 1:33.537 23
10 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:34.422 1:33.617 1:33.555 24
11 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.307 1:33.837 15
12 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda 1:34.574 1:33.855 14
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 1:34.265 1:33.979 17
14 18 Lance Stroll** Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:34.504 1:34.199 18
15 3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri Honda 1:34.683 1:34.308 18
16 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 1:34.703 9
17 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1:34.834 10
18 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:34.849 10
19 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 1:34.850 10
20 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri Honda 1:36.447 9

*Will take 10-place grid penalty for a new Power Unit
**Will take a 5-place Grid Penalty for ignoring yellow flags and gets 3 penalty points