Las Vegas may be famous for gambling, but few would have bet on this starting order ahead of the Grand Prix weekend: Mercedes’ George Russell on pole, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P2 and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P3 – great stuff .

Charles Leclerc’s second Ferrari will chase them down the Strip on lap 1 and the man who could win a fourth consecutive drivers’ title here, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The only driver who can stop him – McLaren’s Lando Norris – starts one place behind in sixth place.

REPORT: Russell moves to pole for the Las Vegas Grand Prix over Sainz and Gasly

An excellent qualification from Yuki Tsunoda ensures that RB finishes seventh, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas. A disappointed Lewis Hamilton completes the top ten, a few uncharacteristic Q3 mistakes costing the Mercedes driver a chance at pole.

Mixed fortunes at Kick Sauber see Zhou Guanyu starting a strong 13th, while teammate Valtteri Bottas is at the back thanks to a five-place grid penalty for using an extra power unit element. Among them is Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who is in fifteenth place, after another mediocre qualifying for the Mexican.

And from the pit lane starts Franco Colapinto, who has been cleared to race after his crash in the 50G Q2, forcing the tireless Williams team to carry out another serious repair job overnight.