LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING RECAP

Nov 23, 2024

4 min read

I went to bed at three in the morning (Eastern Standard Time) and woke up not too long ago. Why did I do that?

Well, it’s the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, and as I am four hours ahead of Nevada, I’ve had to stay up late for the past couple of days to keep up with the action, including Qualifying, which started for me at 1 a.m. Here’s my quick but slightly sleepy recap of the session:

Q1

Mercedes had been thriving throughout the Free Practice sessions, so I was pleasantly relieved to see George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finish first and second place in the session… but nothing was set for the British drivers until the session ended. Once again, Sergio Perez found himself within the bottom five… not an ideal starting position for a Red Bull car. At this point, it is sadly something to be expected. Unless Perez can pull a climbing feat tomorrow, he (and the team) are screwed for points.

Aston Martin fixed Lance Stroll’s car (after having crashed in FP3 a few hours earlier) just in time for the driver to have a teensy-weensy opportunity to participate in Q3. He’ll be starting at the bottom, but I think that it is better to have a chance to establish a time than to have no time on track at all.

After a rough Brazillian Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto outqualified Alex Albon by quite a difference. The rumor mill has been ablaze recently about the Argentinian driver’s seat prospects - it seems obvious to everyone that he will stick around in 2025 in a permanent and proper seat. It’s just a matter of waiting for a team to make an announcement - from what I hear, the Red Bull team has set their eyes on him.

Cut:

16. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

18. Alex Albon (Williams)

19. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)

20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

Q2

A moment I didn’t see coming - Franco Colapinto had quite the crash in the final moments of Q3 with three wheels out and tons of debris. He was already knocked out this round, but I do fear that he might take a few place penalties to compete tomorrow… and that is me hoping that the car can be fixed on time. I was slightly bummed out - I was hoping that he’d be in the top ten. This is yet another crash from the driver at a level similar to his Brazil crash. This might be a combination of the driver’s rookie inexperience and error of judgment. To Colapinto’s defense, this is his first time on the circuit, and it did look like he was trying to correct his mistake. Still, it doesn’t erase the fact the Williams garage will be working overtime.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see Zhou Guanyu qualify this high on the grid. Remember, you must always consider qualifying and race results with the driver and team in mind. P13 is a terrible start for a driver from McLaren or Ferrari, but it is significant for Kick Sauber and Zhou Guanyu. I am curious to see if he can maintain this pace tomorrow and climb into points - I want to say P8 to P10 in a best-case scenario.

Cut:

11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

13. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)

14. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

15. Liam Lawson (VCARB)

Q3

The final results threw me off, not going to lie. I was so sure that Hamilton was going to snatch up pole position, but you know what? I’m not too concerned about his P10 start. This is Lewis Hamilton, Sir Lewis Hamilton if we want to adhere to formalities. He’ll find a way to climb up the leaderboard. The worst-case scenario is that he finishes somewhere between P4 and P8. The best-case scenario is a podium finish.

Speaking of the podium, what a random top three start - Russell, Sainz, and Gasly. It’s a peculiar combination, but I wonder if Russell and Gasly can maintain their places within the first five laps. Call me biased here, but Sainz is the most likely of the three to stay within P1 and P3, while Leclerc’s odds of overtaking Gasly and (carefully) battling out with his teammate are pretty high. No matter what happens here, the night might belong to Ferrari with respect to the Constructors’ Championship perspective.

And then there is the Drivers’ Championship. Keeping in mind Max Verstappen's legendary performance amidst the chaos of Interlagos, he does have the hunger to secure the points necessary to take home the Championship title tonight. That’s not to say that Norris will go down without a fight - I doubt he will. It will be the face-off of the night, and no matter what the outcome is, it will be thrilling. As I write this, I feel that Verstappen might emerge victorious.

P1 to P10:

1. George Russell (Mercedes)

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

6. Lando Norris (McLaren)

7. Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB)

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Twelveish hours from now, my highly caffeinated self will be up at 1 a.m. to catch the race and take notes for the race recap. I’ll see you all tomorrow.