Sainz will start 2nd and Alonso, out in Q1, 17th

THE Mercedes have been confirmed as the fastest in the Las Vegas Grand Prixwhich held its qualifying session this Saturday – Friday evening there. Pole went to the British george Russellfollowed by Ferrari of Carlos Sainzjust 98 thousandths away. Fernando Alonso He was the disappointment, being eliminated in Q1, and will start seventeenth in tomorrow’s race.

Energy boost for Ferrari, which placed its drivers in second and fourth places, in the case of Charles Leclercof the grill. The big surprise is the French Rock Gaslywho slipped between the two red cars and finished third with his Alpine. On the other hand, Max. Verstappen (5th) will start just ahead of his rival for the World Cup, Pram Norris (6th).

Russell’s superb final lap confirmed what had been seen at Mercedes throughout the weekend, although Louis Hamilton He was tenth after a terrible lap. Sainz, who thought he had pole, was left with honey on his lips and stressed after qualifying that Ferrari needed wins “to be able to beat McLaren” in the constructors’ championship.

Third pole of the season for Russell, who will struggle to stay in first place in the race due to the deterioration of the W15. Sainz has shown that he is there to win and at Ferrari there is a thirst for victories. The Spaniard will have an ally behind him in Gasly, who will be able to stop Leclerc, Verstappen and the McLaren at the start of the race.

Verstappen, despite the team’s poor performance Red Bull in Las Vegas, he achieved his goal of positioning himself ahead of the McLarens. This Sunday, the Dutchman has for the first time the opportunity to win his fourth World Drivers’ Championship. To do this, “Mad Max” must win the race or not lose more than one point from its current gap (62) with Norris.

Russell’s first participation in the third quarter has already confirmed the predictions. With a 1:32.8, he was two tenths ahead of Sainz, who had been leading until then, and despite this, the Briton wanted to go further, because he had hit the wall in turn 5, losing a few thousandths.

The ease of warming up the Mercedes tires and also finding some grip on the cold Las Vegas track, where they run at 10 p.m. local time, has given the British team a competitive edge over the other teams, especially in relation to Verstappen. who had not found his rhythm but wanted to win his fourth consecutive World Championship on the track.

However, on the second attempt, Leclerc improved his time and took first place, although this lead only lasted a few seconds, the same time that was enough for Sainz to destroy the partials and momentarily rise to first position while waiting for Russell.

However, the Briton, like Mercedes throughout the weekend, left no option and beat the Madrilenian’s time by 98 thousandths, after carrying out precise driving which allowed him to take pole position and surpass also Hamilton, who despite his good times over the weekend. This weekend he struggled with the car and finished tenth, without making a single good attempt in Q3.

He also didn’t have a good quality Czech Pérezwho could barely exceed the sixteenth position in Q1, a situation that makes things very complicated for the Austrian team to qualify for the World Constructors’ Championship, in which it is currently third thanks to the efficiency of Verstappen.

It was even worse for Alonso, who finished seventeenth, one position behind “Checo” and only two tenths from the cut. The Spaniard aborted his second and final attempt after a very poor first sector which made him slow down and settle for seventeenth place, after Aston Martin’s decline in recent weeks.