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George Russell will start Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix from pole position as Max Verstappen took another step towards securing a fourth world championship by outqualifying his only remaining title rival, Lando Norris.
Mercedes’ Russell beat Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to the fastest time by 0.098 seconds, with Pierre Gasly taking a surprise third place on the grid for Alpine.
Gasly said afterwards: “It’s unbelievable honestly we didn’t think we would be able to achieve a top three in qualifying. It was an incredible lap especially around this track when you’re flirting with the walls everywhere through the lap and there is a lot of adrenaline and excitement.
“I knew crossing the line it was a good lap but when they came on the radio telling me I was lining up in third tomorrow, it’s just amazing and I’m really happy.”
Verstappen qualified fifth, behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in fourth, but will start one place ahead of Norris, who could only manage the sixth-fastest time.
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Verstappen’s current championship lead of 62 points means Norris needs to outscore Verstappen by three points in Las Vegas to keep the championship alive at the penultimate round of the season in Qatar.
The current championship situation means that if the two drivers start where they finish Saturday, Verstappen will be crowned world champion for the fourth consecutive year.
The qualifying result will also be concerning for McLaren’s constructors’ title hopes, with both Ferraris starting ahead of Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, who was eighth in Q3.
Ferrari trail McLaren by 36 points in the standings, but could take a big chunk out of that lead if Sainz and Leclerc can convert the team’s promising long-run pace in practice into genuine pace in Saturday’s race.
Yuki Tsunoda took seventh place for RB ahead of Piastri in eighth place and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in ninth.
Russell’s Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will start in 10th after making mistakes on both of his Q3 laps.
His Mercedes had looked fast throughout practice in Las Vegas, making the result all the more galling for the seven-time world champion, who will leave the team for Ferrari at the end of the season.
Russell said afterwards on his performance: “It’s incredible to be back on pole, we’ve been so quick all weekend and I just knew coming into the last Q3 lap it’s going to be the one that counts, it doesn’t matter what has happened before then.
“I had a bit of a moment in my first run, and we had to change the front wing so for a moment I didn’t think we were going to make the flag but I’m just so happy. We’ve got to do some deep dive to understand why it’s been so quick so far this weekend because it’s a real surprise.”
Esteban Ocon will start 11th for Alpine ahead of Kevin Magnussen in 12th and Zhou Guanyu in 13th for Sauber.
Williams driver Franco Colapinto hit the inside wall at Turn 16 at the end of Q2 and was fired into the barrier on the outside of the circuit. Although he walked away from the accident, his participation in the grand prix will be subject to medical checks ahead of Saturday’s race.
The car was heavily damaged and will require extensive repairs, with the accident coming three weeks after Williams sustained millions of dollars’ worth of damage with three accidents across its two cars at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Colapinto qualified 14th ahead of RB’s Liam Lawson in 15th.
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Under-pressure Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was knocked out in the opening session of qualifying for the sixth time this season. He missed out on a place in Q2 by 0.068 seconds to Lawson, who is hotly tipped to replace Perez at Red Bull if the Mexican’s poor form continues.
Fernando Alonso was 17th fastest at the end of Q1 after complaining of getting caught out by a late yellow flag in the first sector on his final attempt. Williams driver Alex Albon will start 18th ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 19th.
Lance Stroll set the slowest time in qualifying, but only got one flying lap due to Aston Martin working on his car during the early part of the session to replace its energy recovery system after it failed in final practice.