Max qualifies fifth in Las Vegas: 'There was nothing more in it'

Published on 23 November 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen qualified fifth for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The three-time World Champion was four tenths short of pole position, which was secured by George Russell, his third pole of the year. Max will start the race from the third row, next to Lando Norris.

“We simply do not have enough pace. We are coming up short on the straight because of that wing and we don't have the grip. Then it will of course be a difficult story against Mercedes, but also against Ferrari and even an Alpine.” Still, Max is not dissatisfied about the qualifying session. “As a team, we tried to do the best we could. We worked well together. We tried a lot of different things to see what the right direction was. I do think that what we did for qualifying was the right direction, but clearly not enough to fight for pole.” The championship leader managed to qualify ahead of Norris. “We’re still in front of McLaren, which is the important thing. I have to look at that. I tried to get everything out of it during qualifying. There were no mistakes in that lap, but there was nothing more in it.”

The World Champion continues: “I have no idea how we will be in the long runs. Every long run we did, we changed things in the set-up, so hopefully the tyres will stay intact.” About the lack of top speed, Max said: “With DRS open, the speed on the straight is an even bigger problem. When we drive normally, it is a bit less, but it is still not efficient at all. We know that and we have to live with it.”

In a cold Las Vegas, the lights turn green at 22:00 local time for Q1. With a track temperature of fourteen degrees, it is difficult to get the tyres up to temperature, which is why many drivers do multiple flying laps on the same tyres. In the first run, Max sets a 1:34.3, a time that is good for fifth position. In the second run, Max improves by half a second, but due to the improvements of others, the World Champion drops back to sixth position. George Russell is the fastest after two runs with a 1:33.3, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.

In the final minutes of Q1, Max, Russell and Hamilton go for a third fast lap on the same set of tyres. Max is the first to improve to the fastest time with a 1:33.2, but not much later the Mercedes cars dive under it. Russell concludes Q1 as the fastest, with a 39 thousandths lead over teammate Hamilton. Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, Alexander Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll are unable to get into the top fifteen and are done for the day.

At the start of the second part of qualifying, Max is at the front of the pit lane. After two laps to warm up his tyres, he records a 1:33.2 in his first run, which is good for the third fastest time. Hamilton opens with a 1:33.136, with a lead of one thousandth on Piastri. Just like in Q1, the times are improved in an extra run on the same tyre. Max briefly climbs to P1 with a 1:33.085, but in the minutes that follow, a number of others set faster times. Hamilton goes to P1 with a 1:32.5, which is the fastest time of the weekend. For Franco Colapinto, qualifying ends with a hard crash, but fortunately the Argentinian climbs out of his car unscathed. The crash causes a red flag, which also ends the session. At that moment, Max is in seventh position. Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu, Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson are eliminated in Q2.

As soon as the track has been cleared after Colapinto's crash, Q3 starts. Max begins his first run again with two warm-up laps, before he starts a fast lap. The World Champion records the third fastest time with a 1:33.2. He is two hundredths faster than Norris, but four tenths slower than Russell. The Briton is the fastest in the first run with a 1.32.8, ahead of Carlos Sainz.

The McLarens kick of the second runs by improving their times to a 1:33.0, which is not enough to compete for pole position. In the final moments of the session, Leclerc sets the fastest time. Shortly after his teammate Carlos Sainz takes over provisional pole but loses it to Russell. The Briton crosses the line last and improves on the pole time by less than a tenth, claiming the first starting position. It is his third pole position of the year. Max manages to improve his own time slightly and eventually sets the fifth fastest time, which means he can start the race from the third row, next to Norris, who will start sixth.

Contest Las Vegas GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing cap!

Results qualifying Las-vegas: