Las Vegas Grand Prix: Live qualifying coverage

Las Vegas. The city where all-nighters and poor decisions are the norm.

So let’s tap into that energy.

Qualifying for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix is just a few hours away, and what better way to mark the affair than by leaning into that energy, and live-blogging the session? Sure, it gets underway at 3:00 a.m. local time for our intrepid Formula 1 writer, but this is Las Vegas, and that means taking some bold risks.

Before things get underway, you can catch up on all the action on SB Nation’s hub for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. That includes deep dives into the storylines around the race, interviews with Valtteri Bottas and Oscar Piastri, a look at F1’s sustainability campaign and how the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix fits into those goals, a summary of the first night of practice, and much, much more.

We’ll get rolling shortly before qualifying gets underway, so if you’ve woken up early ... or haven’t gone to bed yet ... check back early and often!

(All updates in Eastern time).

Update 4:02: Leclerc on pole. Sainz does finish in P2, but he’ll get dropped because of the penalty. Verstappen will start alongside Leclerc.

Update 4:00: Leclerc with a purple middle sector, and he jumps into P1 and provisional pole. Sainz right behind him for P2. But he is still facing the penalty that will drop him down into P12.

Update 3:59: Under two minutes to go now, and it’s shootout time.

Update 3:56: The Williams drivers are on the track as just under four minutes remain in Q3.

Update 3:53: Initial runs have been completed, and we still have a Ferrari 1-2, with Leclerc ahead of Sainz. Verstappen sits in P3, with Alonso in P4.

Update 3:48: Q3 is underway in Vegas.

Update 3:46: Well we’ve made it this far, let’s finish strong pals ...

Update 3:45: Here are the drivers eliminated in Q2:

Update 3:41: STUNNERS as both Hamilton and Pérez are out in Q2. The Williams duo of Sargeant and Albon are through to Q3.

Update 3:37: Just over three minutes to go and it is a Ferrari 1-2 at the moment.

Update 3:31: Alonso to the top of the timing sheets as we are under ten minutes to go in Q2.

Update 3:29: Alex Jacques relays the note that Alonso is the only driver who was alive the last time F1 raced in Las Vegas, during the 1981 and 1982 Caesars Palace Grands Prix.

I laughed.

Then I remembered I was alive then too so...

Update 3:26: Q2 is now underway.

Update 3:24: Here are the five eliminated drivers:

Update 3:20: Both McLaren’s are out in Q1. A bit of a stunner given their recent form, but perhaps not a surprise given how their pace was during PF2 and PF3.

Update 3:18: Tsunoda goes off the track at Turn 5, which brings out the yellow flag for the moment.

Update 3:15: The track evolution is underway, as both Gasly and Bottas have jumped into the Top 5.

Update 3:14: Sargeant into P3. Right now the Top 5 are two Ferraris, two Red Bulls ... and Sargeant.

Update 3:13: With five minutes left in Q1 the five drivers in the drop zone are Zhou, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Gasly, and Tsunoda. Stroll is currently at risk, sitting in P15.

Update 3:11: Williams does look strong, with both drivers in the Top 10 with just over seven minutes to go in Q1.

Update 3:08: Only two drivers have yet to set a time: Russell and Albon.

Update 3:07: Sargeant’s initial push lap puts him into P2 for the moment.

Update 3:05: Pérez goes P1 for a moment, but Leclerc pulls ahead of him almost immediately.

Leclerc
Pérez
Norris
Piastri
Magnussen

That is the current Top 5 with 12 minutes left in Q1.

Update 3:02: Rod Stewart and Gordon Ramsay in Red Bull’s garage.

So ... yeah.

Update 2:59: David Coulthard After Dark: “I’ve been coming to Vegas for 25 years, this is the first time I’ve been sober the entire week.”

Update 2:57: Things are about to get rolling out in Sin City. Strap in and keep the RPMs up.

Update 2:53: James Hinchcliffe raises a great point on F1TV regarding Ferrari. With Sainz facing the ten-place grid penalty, they can play the “team tactics” game to make sure Leclerc gets a true shot at pole, similar to what AlphaTauri did in Mexico City. With Tsunoda set to start at the back of the grid due to an engine penalty, he gave Ricciardo a slipstream to push him in both Q1 and Q2.

Ferrari can play the team game with Sainz, and he can potentially do the same for Leclerc here in a few moments.

Update 2:50: Stroll has been hit with a five-place grid drop for overtaking under a yellow:

Double yellow flags were waved at Marshal Post 12.9 as Car 18 approached that point along the straight. After passing the flags, which were clearly visible on the onboard video from Car 18, Car 18 overtook Car 55.

The driver of Car 18 stated he had his “head down” looking at his dash and was concentrating on the Ferrari ahead of him and missed the flags. Although there were no yellow light panels displayed, the regulations are clear that the flags and light panels have the same meaning.

Accordingly the standard penalty guidelines have been applied as to penalty.

Stroll has also been hit with three penalty points on his Super License.

Update 2:49: Sam Collins diving into data is must-watch television.

Update 2:43: Will Buxton talking about how Sargeant and Oscar Piastri might be on more solid footing this weekend because this track is new for everyone, and not just for the rookies.

I actually spoke with Piastri about that earlier this week. Here’s what he told me:

“At certain tracks that’s not really been a limitation for me, but at other tracks I feel like, yeah, definitely the experience, or the lack of experience has been a bit costly at times,” said Piastri. “So yeah, it’s gonna be nice to have first just a normal weekend with three practice sessions again, and a track that’s gonna be new for everyone. So hopefully it helps me out a little bit.

“But you know, I’m racing against some of the best guys in the world, so, it doesn’t mean I can take it any easier, right?”

Update 2:33: Ok so random fashion aside I want Lawrence Barretto’s sneakers.

Update 2:31: Hey the pre-quali show has started on F1TV!

Update 2:10: Diving into some data from FP3 before qualifying gets underway, thanks to the brilliant minds over at F1-Tempo. Definitely check them out and bookmark the site.

Anyway, as we noted a few moments ago Sargeant posted the third-best time of FP3. As always, take practice times with a grain of salt — or a whole tablespoon in some cases — because it is hard to know what teams are focusing on, what programs they are running, etc.

But here is a look at the fastest laps from Max Verstappen — who put in a brief cameo with only a handful of laps — and Sargeant. Verstappen’s fastest lap came on his fifth lap, on a set of soft tires. Sargeant’s fastest lap came on his 14th lap, also on a set of softs:

The FW45 has been so strong on the straights this season, and that strength is a reason why I wrote last week that the Las Vegas Grand Prix was critical in his effort to lock down his seat for 2024.

If that strength holds over the next hour or so — again, keeping in mind the caveats about practice sessions noted above — that would be massive for him.

Update 2:08: This was a fun little undercard during FP3: Kevin Magnussen versus Charles Leclerc:

Update 2:02: So if you’re looking for something to do as the minutes tick down to Q1, I have some recommendations! Specifically, my interview with Valtteri Bottas, and my interview with Oscar Piastri.

Update 1:57: Lance Stroll has been summoned to meet with race stewards for allegedly overtaking under yellow flag conditions:

That could mean a grid drop for the Aston Martin driver.

Update 1:50: Well, similar to FP1, FP3 ended early. However, this time it was much later in the session, after Alexander Albon lost a tire and hit the barrier.

However, it was not all bad news for Williams because ... LOGAN SARGEANT??!?!?

We have discussed Sargeant’s status for 2024 at length this F1 season, but if this carries into qualifying here in an hour, well, that would be huge for his 2024 prospects one would think.

Update 1:42: Oh boy do I immediately regret this decision ...