Let's talk about Las Vegas GP Qualifying.

Hello, how are you guys? This time I wanted to write something about F1, more specifically about the classification of the Grand Prix of Las Vegas that will be held on Sunday at 2 in the morning (Venezuelan time), I have been following the sport closely for a couple of years and I felt that this was a perfect opportunity to write something about it, I hope you like it and I am open to receiving any kind of constructive criticism.

After the extremely dominant season that Red Bull had last year, I think I speak for many when I say that nobody expected things to be so "close" in 2024, and although Max Verstappen managed to accumulate a surprising amount of victories in the first half of the season (A testament to his ability as a driver considering how deficient the RB 20 was compared to its predecessor) little by little other teams like Ferrari or Mercedes began to fight back, especially in the case of McLaren who managed to snatch the constructors' championship from their hands (At least temporarily), and will probably end up taking it at the end of the year... although Ferrari also has a chance mathematically speaking..

Although Verstappen has the championship almost secured (Norris is 62 points behind and there are only three Grand Prix left to play) it is still surprising to see him fighting to secure a couple of extra points, something unimaginable during the previous two years.

Scoreboard, F1 app

But well, the purpose of this post is not so much to analyze the current state of the standings but rather to review what happened in the classification of the Grand Prix of Las Vegas, a circuit that was launched last year and that despite so much criticism from the most conservative fans ended up providing a pleasant spectacle, with a pole position for Charles Leclerc that (for a change) ended up becoming another victory for the flying Dutchman..

As I said before, this year things are a little more balanced and it was clear from the practice sessions that Mercedes had it easy to start in P1 and P2, with Lewis Hamilton leading each of the rounds.

To everyone's surprise, Red Bull (fresh off a brilliant win in a flooded Brazil (honourable mention for Alpine's unexpected double podium) performed poorly in practice, apparently due to a wrong choice with the rear wing, but this had apparently been sorted out for qualifying. For the other teams (McLaren and Ferrari) things were going relatively well, with the rest of the leading positions being alternated without being able to dethrone Mercedes.

So, how did things turn out?

As for the second half of the grid, there is no news: Kick/AM and Williams share the back with an increasingly disastrous Sergio Perez, who is no longer even benefiting from the presence of a semi-urban circuit. Haas feels quite comfortable in the middle positions and Hulkenberg works wonders (again) reaching Q3, while Colapinto (who had an impact that closed Q2) once again performs better than his teammate, an Alex Albon with much more experience behind the wheel.

If there was one thing that hurt in qualifying, it was seeing Hamilton unable to fight for pole after having made a couple of mistakes on track, especially if we take into account that his teammate George Russell was able to take the lead at the last minute, taking provisional pole from Carlos Sainz who had already set an impressive time of 1:32.410.

But things don't stop there, as Gasly appeared ready to give it his all in Las Vegas and managed to sneak into P3, with a time of 1:32.664, considerably faster than Charles Leclerc and proving that perhaps the double podium at Inter Lagos was not pure luck.

Expectations for tomorrow? It's hard to say - we had a relatively uneventful qualifying session but last year's spectacle could be replicated in the central race, especially considering that Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are starting side-by-side and the young Briton's hunger for his first world championship title is increasingly evident, even if realistically it's a long way off.

Personally I hope Ferrari and Mercedes have a good race, and I'd really enjoy seeing another Carlos Sainz win before he has to leave to drive the Williams tractor.

The real question should be: Will we be willing to stay up late to watch the race? We'll find out later.