George Russell Hustles To Pole At Las Vegas

George Russell converted Mercedes’ surprising free practice strength to grab pole at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Russell edged out Carlos Sainz in second, while Pierre Gasly ran back a double podium last time out for Alpine with a third-place starting position this week.

GEORGE RUSSELL TAKES POLE IN VEGAS!!! 🤩#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/lOADgM2640

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024

“Ultimately, you have to put it on the table sometimes,” Russell said in the podium interviews. “I felt confident in myself and knew if I did a clean lap, it would be enough to secure a front row. To get pole position, it’s incredible but ultimately, we’ve had a few good qualifyings recently. We need to convert that into a win now.”

In the battle for the championship, Max Verstappen qualified fifth, and Lando Norris sixth. If Verstappen finishes ahead of Norris or both finish out of the points, he will have earned the 2024 championship. Norris must gain at least three points to take the championship race into the last two rounds in the Middle East.

Q3

Lewis Hamilton struggled in his first flying lap, driving right off into the run-off in turn 12.

The Mercedes driver avoided damage but went off-track again on his last hot lap and had the time deleted, setting him back in 10th on the grid.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Leader
1.	63	George Russell	chassis engine (only one word if same)	1:32.312m
2.	55	Carlos Sainz		+0.098s
3.	10	Pierre Gasly		+0.352s
4.	16	Charles Leclerc		+0.471s
5.	1	Max Verstappen		+0.485s
6.	4	Lando Norris		+0.696s
7.	22	Yuki Tsunoda		+0.717s
8.	81	Oscar Piastri		+0.721s
9.	27	Nico Hulkenberg		+0.750s
10.	44	Lewis Hamilton		+15.044s

Q2

At the end of Q2, Franco Colapinto had a massive crash entering the pit straight.

The recovery operation continues and there's also lots of debris on track for the marshals to clear up#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/CRnhNGaqSJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024

Colapinto was able to walk away after having qualified 14th. As of press time, it is unclear if Colapinto can start tomorrow for a parts-strapped Williams team; if he doesn’t, it will be from the pit lane.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
11.	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	+0.107s
12.	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	+0.183s
13.	24	Zhou Guanyu	KICK Sauber Ferrari	+0.452s
14.	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	+0.635s
15.	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	+1.143s

Q1

At the end of free practice three earlier in the night, Lance Stroll encountered a massive mechanical issue.

🔴 RED FLAG 🔴

Stroll stops on track – he's parked up near the barriers#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/TjzqxzGtsO

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024

Aston Martin spent the hours in-between trying to fix the car. They finally sent Stroll onto the track at the end of qualifying, but it was too late, as Stroll qualified 20th and last.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
16.	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	+0.068s
17.	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	+0.171s
18.	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	+0.338s
19.	77	Valtteri Bottas	KICK Sauber Ferrari	+0.343s
20.	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	+0.397s

Qualifying results for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Just three rounds remain in the 2024 F1 season. Coverage for the Las Vegas Grand Prix will come on Sunday, November 24, at 1:00 am EST on ESPN.