F1: Leclerc takes pole; “Cheko” left the top 10 in Las Vegas | Classification

Charles Leclerc put Ferrari in pole position First Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, accompanied in the front row by three-time world champion Formula one Max Verstappen from Red Bull.

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was second fastest in qualifying, Verstappen third, but the Spaniard has penalty of 10 places on the starting grid After repairing his car after being damaged, he was injured in an incident in practice.

Mexican, Sergio “Checo” Perez On Saturday he had problems again and this time he failed to finish in the top ten before the race and will start in eleventh position.

Leclerc was fastest in all three qualifying rounds on the illuminated section of the avenue known as Bandagainst the neon backdrop of famous hotels and casinos, taking his third pole position in the last four races.

The Monaco driver was still disappointed with his laps and the pole time of one minute 32.726 seconds was only half a tenth faster than Sainz.

“I didn’t do very well, but it was good enough for first position, so that’s all we need. and now we will focus on tomorrow to try to give our best in the race,” he said.

“This is usually where we lack the most performance, so I hope we can put in our best and win here“.

George Russell will be third in MercedesWith Pierre Gasly fourth on the grill for Alpine in the first race in Sin City since the 1980s.

Williams couple educated Alex Albon and American debutant Logan Sargeant took an impressive and surprising place. fifth and sixth place.

Verstappen retired on his final lap, knowing he didn’t have to beat Sainz on track to earn a front-row seat. strives for his victory 18 in a season whose titles were decided a long time ago.

“I think we did our best today. I think throughout the weekend we were lacking in one-lap performance and it became very obvious,” said the Dutch driver.

Valtteri Bottas will come out seventh with Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen eighth s haas And Fernando Alonso ninth from Aston Martin.

Lewis Hamiltonseven-time world champion Mercedes, failed to get into the top ten as he was eleventh, but will start tenth place due to Sainz’s penalty.

‘Czech’from Red Bull, which can get second place in the overall championship This weekend he will start 11th, while Sainz will drop to 12th.

Both McLaren They failed to pass the first stage because the British Lando Norris 16 years old and his teammate, an Australian rookie Oscar Piastriin the last row in 19th place, a setback for his attempt to secure fourth place in the general classification.

However, both moved up one position behind Aston Martin Lance Strollwho qualified 14th, received a five-place grid penalty for overtaking while the double yellow flags waved in final free practice.

“Very disappointed. We thought we would have problems this weekend, but I didn’t think any car would start in the first quarter.“American McLaren boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports.

“We know slow corners are not our strong point and we’re not bad, but we’re not very good on those long straights and where we’re strong is in the high- and medium-speed corners, which we don’t have a lot of on this track.”

“Now is not the best time, considering how close we are to the championship. (Aston Martin) will field both cars in the first quarter, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Alpine Esteban Ocon He will also have some work to do in the race, starting from 17th on the grid after nearly colliding with Verstappen at the end.

Verstappen called the Frenchman an “idiot” on the team radio, while Ocon complained that: “Honestly, it’s a joke: Verstappen rushes into the first corner like crazy.”

Qualifying began at 02:00 a.m., making Las Vegas the first Grand Prix since Japan in 2019 to decide pole position. same race day.

Scheduled start at 00:00 Mexico time, This will be the last stage in the history of Formula 1.

(Reuters)