George Russell secured pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, delivering a stellar lap that saw him edge Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by just a fraction. With the title fight heating up, Max Verstappen will start from fifth, while his championship rival Lando Norris will line up in sixth. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly earned a strong third-place position, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth. Yuki Tsunoda completed the top seven for Red Bull.
Verstappen, leading Norris by 62 points in the standings, has a chance to seal his fourth consecutive World Championship this weekend. To clinch the title in Las Vegas, Verstappen must either finish ahead of Norris or maintain a 60-point advantage. If Norris outperforms him by three points or more, the title battle will extend into the Qatar GP.
The qualifying session faced a delay after Franco Colapinto’s crash in Q2, but once the track was cleared, Norris set the early benchmark with a 1:33.237. Sainz improved briefly, but Russell’s late charge put him at the top, two-tenths ahead of Sainz. In the final laps, Russell posted a stunning 1:32.31, securing his fourth career pole position and Mercedes’ third of the season, following previous successes in Austria and Britain.
This marks Russell’s first pole at the Las Vegas circuit, and he’ll be looking to convert it into a victory after near-misses in Canada and Silverstone, as well as a disqualification at Spa. With Mercedes showing strong pace in the cooler Las Vegas temperatures, Russell will be keen to secure his third career win.
Oscar Piastri qualified eighth, while Nico Hülkenberg claimed ninth. Colapinto’s crash in Q2 led to a brief suspension of the session, but he emerged unscathed and ended up 14th. Other notable positions included Esteban Ocon in 11th, Kevin Magnussen in 12th, and Liam Lawson in 15th.
Sergio Pérez’s struggles continued as he was knocked out in Q1, qualifying 15th, while Fernando Alonso could only manage 14th. His teammate Lance Stroll, dealing with an energy recovery system failure, could only manage 20th after a single hot lap. Alex Albon qualified 18th, and Valtteri Bottas, facing a five-place grid penalty for an engine change, will start from the back of the grid.
In other developments, General Motors’ plans to join Formula 1 appear to be progressing, with a potential entry as the 11th team. After an unsuccessful bid in partnership with Andretti, GM is now focusing on entering the sport as a works team under the Cadillac brand, with plans to develop their own engine by 2028. A formal announcement could be made as soon as next week.
