After a difficult start at the promising Las Vegas Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc managed to outpace reigning World Champion Max Verstappen during the qualifying session. Since the beginning of the 2023 season, the Monegasque faced a series of obstacles which included multiple crashes and penalties. Despite the record, he managed to bag the pole at qualifying after a pole during FP2 with Verstappen starting right behind him.
But the Dutch driver at Red Bull seems to be indifferent about the situation. According to him, “It is quite cold out there and slippery. On a street circuit, you try to get closer to the wall. I think we lacked a bit, but I think we should be better in the race and can hopefully, look after the tyres. The car felt good in the race pace yesterday.” He further added, “We’ve been lacking one lap performance so I hope for more from the race.”
Before y’all jump to conclusions, Esteban Ocon overtook Max Verstappen LITERALLY just before both started their flying laps…
Max just schooled him, despite Ocon has done 131 races…#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qdu9EMGCQS
— Opinionated Fan (@OpinionatedSF19) November 18, 2023
The race was a messy one due to the unfortunate incident that occurred during FP1 that forced the FIA to vacate the grandstands before viewers could witness the FP2. Spanish driver Carlos Sainz hit a loose manhole lid which led to an abrupt halt of the race after only eight minutes. He then had to face a ten-place grid penalty as a result of this.
Max Verstappen believes he ‘enjoyed’ the qualifying session at the Las Vegas GP
Following a rough beginning to the event, like the postponement of Thursday’s practice because of loose drain covers, fans were at some point treated to some exciting on-track action on the freshly built street track.
Though Verstappen decided to quit from his final lap during Friday’s qualifying, he continues to have faith in his potential ability to surpass Leclerc on race day. Given the impressive records the three-time World Champion holds, there is a good chance he can do what he intends.
Max Verstappen: It’s been a good day and it was really enjoyable to see everyone in orange having fun in the grandstands. Of course the track is also very fun to drive with a lot of fast corners so it was good to finally get out there.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) September 3, 2021
According to Max Verstappen, “It was enjoyable out there. I think we maximized today. I think the whole weekend so far we have been lacking a bit of one-lap performance and that was quite clear. I hope tomorrow in the race we are good on the tires again and can work our way forward. However, I’m a bit disappointed about my laps in Q3. I didn’t do a good enough job but it was enough for P1 and that’s all we need.”
However, there were eliminations during the qualifying round. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the drivers for McLaren, both withdrew after the first round. Following Q2, Mercedes’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez performed the exact same way. With the car needing repairs after the wild first practice, Sainz was dealt a blow and dropped to the tenth position in the grid.