The third and final segment of qualifying for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was delayed. The reason? A hard shunt from Williams driver Franco Colapinto late in Q2 spread debris over the Las Vegas Street Circuit, requiring a lengthy inspection of the wall Colapinto slammed into.
After the extended delay, Q3 finally began, kicking off a stunning 12-minute shootout for pole position. When the dust finally settled in Sin City, it was George Russell capturing his fourth career pole position, and his third of the season.
And while Mercedes was strongest over the week leading into qualifying, a few drivers threw everything they had at Russell. As the final flying laps unfolded it was the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. who briefly locked out the front row, only to see Pierre Gasly jump into P2 provisionally, splitting the Ferrari pair and dropping Leclerc to third.
But the Russell split the Sin City night open, delivering under the pressure of expectations and seizing pole position.
“Honestly, absolutely not,” said Russell trackside when asked by James Hinchcliffe if he expected to have that pace this week. “It feels incredible to be back on pole, we’ve been so quick all weekend.”
Russell asked to be the last car out at the end of Q3, and the call worked to perfection.
“Ultimately you gotta put it on the table sometimes,” said Russell. “To get pole position it’s incredible … but we need to convert that into a win now.”
Here are the full results from qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix:
