As it happened: 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying

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Qualifying for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix is coming up next

Mercedes have been quickest in all three practice sessions so far. Can they repeat that in qualifying? George Russell has scored both their pole positions so far this year, at Montreal (where he set an identical time to Max Verstappen) and most recently at Silverstone in July.

Charles Leclerc took pole position for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last year. Ferrari haven’t looked as competitive as expected so far this weekend – are they keeping their potential under wraps or have they suffered more than their rivals as a result of the FIA’s recent clarification regarding floor skid blocks?

Red Bull did not look quick until the latter stages of final practice, where Max Verstappen declared himself much happier with the car. Unusually, given the many long straights at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, the team is running its ‘high downforce’ engine cover package.

However Red Bull have scotched speculation that they failed to bring the correct rear wing for this weekend. “We didn’t forget our rear wing,” team principal Christian Horner told Sky. “There’s no issue with it. I don’t know quite where it came from, but we don’t have a specifically-designed wing for very low-downforce, which is basically potentially here and Monza. The money that is involved in creating that, within the cost cap, you’ve got to pick and choose where are you going to spend it. So the wing that we have, you end up trimming the wings to achieve a top speed and that’s what many of the teams have done.”

Aston Martin say they are still working to get Lance Stroll’s car repaired in time for Q1. An energy recovery system packed failed on his AMR24 late in final practice and is being replaced.

Russell is at the front of the queue at the pit lane exit ready to go when the sessions begins. He leads the field out with a set of medium compound tyres on his Mercedes. Most of those behind him appear to be on softs.

Pierre Gasly sets the ball rolling with a 1’43.773 on softs – nowhere near the pace. Russell pitted, seemingly only scrubbing a set of medium tyres. The Sauber drivers put up the first representative times.

Gasly improves to a 1’34.846 which Sergio Perez isn’t able to beat, he goes fourth. Lando Norris has just joined the track in front of the other Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

A pair of 1’34.0s puts the McLarens on top, Piastri ahead. The Mercedes duo slot in behind them. The Ferrari drivers are completing their first laps.

Yuki Tsunoda impressively splits the Mercedes pair, then Fernando Alonso goes fifth in the only Aston Martin which has run so far. The Haas pair are also yet to set times.

Charles Leclerc temporarily goes fastest – Piastri then beats that by half a second. Norris slots in a tenth behind.

Stroll is heading for elimination unless Aston Martin can get him on the track soon. The Haas drivers are poised to escape the drop zone, Bottas and Ocon are already in there, Zhou and Lawson in danger.

Russell is now fastest on a 1’33.363, ahead of Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Norris. The Haas drivers move into the top 10 so the drop zone is now Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Lawson and Stroll.

Great job by the Aston Martin team who get Stroll onto the track, he might not have enough time for a preparation lap as the others are doing but he can get a time in.

Perez only goes 12th, he’s safe by three-tenths of a second, but is that enough?

The Mercedes drivers establish a one-two but Perez is down to 16th and he’s out!

Q2 is go, but Perez has been left behind along with the Aston Martin drivers, Alexander Albon and Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton goes quickest, a mere thousandth of a second quicker than Piastri. The Ferrari drivers are last to run, Leclerc’s race engineer Bryan Bozzi calming his driver who expresses concern they’ll be vulnerable if he’s called to visit the weigh bridge.

One Red Bull is out, the other is fastest, Verstappen producing a 1’33.085. Russell, however, has begun his second run and is on course to beat it.

Russell gest under the 1’33 barrier, two-tenths ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton backing him up in second.

With two minutes left Gasly, Colapinto, Ocon, Lawson and Zhou are in the drop zone.

Hamilton improves with a 1’32.567, Zhou misses the top 10 by less than a tenth of a second.

Colapinto’s crashed! More pain for Williams as another of their cars is in the barrier. He’s moving in the car.

Replay shows Colapinto clipped the apex barrier at turn 16 which sent him into the wall on the outside. There’s a lot of damage to his Williams.

Q2 is therefore over and Colapinto is out along with drivers from four other teams: Lawson, Ocon, Magnussen and Zhou.

The start of Q3 will, of course, be delayed while the Williams is recovered and the track is cleaned up.

The barrier repairs are complete and Q3 will begin in three minutes’ time.

Piastri kicks up a huge shower of sparks approaching turn 14 as he posts a 1’33.520. Norris beats that, gaining a lot of time in the final sector.

Leclerc only sixth, he slid a lot in turn two. But his team mate puts one over the McLarens, moving ahead by two-tenths of a second for provisional pole.

Russell now hits the front, a 1’32.811 for the Mercedes driver. Hamilton lost a lot of time in the middle sector – replay shows he went off at tur 12. That leaves him 10th without a representative time.

All the drivers are out for their final runs, Hamilton vulnerable as the last driver circulating and in 10th place. Leclerc’s first sector not looking good and he’s only eighth.

Russell goes fastest, Norris take second. A very strong middle sector for Leclerc and he takes provisional pole – only for Sainz to take it off him.

What a lap from Gasly! He goes second alongside Sainz. But he loses his grip on the front row as Russell takes pole position. And Hamilton’s miserable Q3 ends with him 10th after a mistake in turn two.

“Shit, shit, shit lap,” fumes Leclerc. “Tyres felt completely different.” Verstappen says: “I gave it all, mate. Super slippery.”

So Russell will start the Las Vegas Grand Prix from pole position. Max Verstappen is poised to clinch the championship after qualifying ahead of Lando Norris.

What a remarkable qualifying session. Here’s our report

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix

• Vowles clarifies Colapinto’s claim he was concussed in Las Vegas crash
• Norris lost title because McLaren weren’t competitive enough early on – Stella
• Ferrari are now in their longest-ever championship drought
• F1 “was trying too hard” in first year at Las Vegas – Sainz
• 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings