Qualifying report: Charles Leclerc takes first-ever Las Vegas GP pole!

Here is our full text transcript from the qualifying session for the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Good morning one and all and welcome to build-up to the first-ever qualifying session around the spectacular-looking new Las Vegas Strip Circuit. If you’re just waking up in Europe or indeed stayed up since the earlier final practice session, then you should be in for a treat over an early breakfast with F1 cars set to battle for pole against one of the most famous backdrops in the world on this new 3.8-mile, high-speed street track.

It’s fair to say the event got off to a stuttering start yesterday with the drain issues eight minutes into the much-anticipated opening session, but thankfully there have been no repeats in the 150 minutes of track action that have followed.

With drivers and teams still finding their feet and the ideal set-up around this track, we certainly don’t have a clear picture yet of the real pecking order is at the head of the field. Street specialists Ferrari look quick, Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in P3, and then there’s of course Red Bull…and that man Max Verstappen.

There has been no talk about track limits this weekend so far but the stewards have put out a statement to note they will be watching out for corner cutting at the flat-out final corner.

The track veers left just before the short home straight and the drivers will want to take the shortest line possible to the finish line, so this is likely why this rule has come in place.

The stewards say: “18) Track Limits 18.1 In accordance with the provisions of Article 33.3, the white lines define the track edges.

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“During Qualifying and the Race, each time a driver fails to stay within the track limits, this will result in that lap time being invalidated by the Stewards.

“Additionally, each time a driver fails to respect track limits at the apex of Turn 17, will result in that lap time and the immediately following lap time being invalidated by the Stewards.”

Green light for Q1! Track temperature down to 16, which makes this the coldest dry qualifying of the year. We have a green light and the Haas drivers are out there first with Williams’ Logan Sargeant.

Not great news for Lance Stroll ahead of qualifying… The Aston Martin driver has been given a five-place grid penalty for the race after overtaking Carlos Sainz under double waved yellow flags during final practice.

14 mins to go in Q1: So we’re off and running on the timesheet, with Kevin Magnussen going fastest so far among the early runners on a 1:35.968. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and the second Haas of Nico Hulkenberg next up so far. But here come the expected front runners for their opening efforts… He’s been quick all weekend and Charles Leclerc goes fastest on a 1:34.898 which is nearly half a second ahead of Sergio Perez. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri go third and fourth.

11 mins to go in Q1: He hasn’t seemed to be enjoying himself much in the bright lights of Vegas, but it’s down to the business he does best now for Max Verstappen in qualifying.

It’s second fastest at the end of his opening lap, 0.089s behind the flying Charles Leclerc. Very much game on here, as expected, up front.

Logan Sargeant underlines Williams’ pace, within 0.2s back in third. Mercedes were the last team to take to the track, meanwhile, and Hamilton and Russell are on their out laps.

9 mins to go in Q1: Charles Leclerc goes even faster with a 1:34.072 which is a massive seventh tenths quicker than Carlos Sainz. Max Verstappen is nearly one second behind in third. Ferrari are looking very strong in Vegas!

6 mins to go in Q1: Lewis Hamilton goes third with his first effort and is half a second behind Charles Leclerc. George Russell backs out, while Perez is now second and Norris fourth. Times are tumbling as the track grips up.

1 min to go: Charles Leclerc is two tenths ahead of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen is half a second behind the leading time. Let’s focus on the bottom though because Piastri is on his all-important final lap, Lewis Hamilton is only 11th and George Russell only 13th. They may have to improve.

“That’s a big, big surprise there,” says a stunned Martin Brundle. The form team behind Red Bull of recent months see Lando Norris drop out in 16th place and Oscar Piastri in 19th. Ouch! Norris suggested they may be a little off form here compared to recently but surely he wasn’t quite expecting things to be this difficult. They just can’t seem to turn on the car’s tyres. Daniel Ricciardo just improved at the very end to go 15th and is in Q2 by 0.020s. He knocks out Lando Norris, who has been a driver in form recently.

Q2 underway – who will make the top 10? Here we go then with the second knockout segment. We’re looking for the fastest 10 drivers to reach Q3. Cars out on their first laps of the session.

9 mins to go: The Ferraris went to the top of the timesheet, but this time around they’ve been outpaced. First by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, and then by the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso. They occupy the front row as things stand.

5 mins to go in Q1: Max Verstappen goes fastest from Lewis Hamilton by two tenths, with George Russell just behind. Here come the Ferraris though. Wow, that’s a statement here in Q2! We said the track was ramping up, but that’s still a very impressive leap from Leclerc on his latest soft-tyre lap.

He clocks a 1:32.834 to easily go quickest. Team-mate Carlos Sainz then slots into second, but he’s half a second behind. Ferrari one-two then into the closing minutes. Verstappen third – with Kevin Magnussen up in fourth for a Haas car that looks very handy around here.

1 min to go in Q2: Red Bull seem confident that Sergio Perez in sixth place, 0.4s ahead of 11th and the drop zone, is safe enough to keep in the garage for the final laps. It turns out Sergio Perez definitely wasn’t safe – and neither was Lewis Hamilton! Improvements from the Williams drivers and Gasly dropped the leading pair into the drop zone and that’s where they stayed. While Red Bull’s decision to keep Perez in the garage badly backfired, Hamilton was on circuit – but said he simply didn’t have the pace in the car to improve. Hamilton is 11th and Perez is 12th.

Green light for Q3! Away we go for Q3. We’ve had plenty of drama already and this should be a thrilling climax in Vegas tonight, or this morning for those in Europe. At the end of Q2, both Ferraris went even faster to underline they are the team to beat. Can anyone stop Leclerc? It will take something special.

8 mins to go in Q3: It’s Charles from Carlos from Verstappen at the end of the opening laps – but the trio are only separated by 0.083s. Verstappen is as close as he’s been all weekend to the Ferraris. He might not be in front yet but he’s right on the tail. Charles Leclerc is exceptional over one lap, but Verstappen can be equally as impressive too when it matters most. Meanwhile, George Russell is on his first flying lap in this segment of qualifying. George Russell goes fifth on a new set of softs and his time is two tenths slower than his best lap in Q2. He won’t be too happy about that.

2 mins to go: Here we go then – the final battle for the inaugural Las Vegas GP pole position is about to begin. It’s Charles Leclerc who holds provisional pole at the moment but his margin over third-placed Max Verstappen is less than a tenth of a second. Still all up for grabs here.

Chequered flag: He’s done it again – Charles Leclerc is on pole for a street circuit with a brilliant performance here in Vegas.

“He earned that. He has been threatening to do that all the way through,” says Martin Brundle.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz is second in Q3, just 0.044s behind in the end, but will drop down to 12th on tomorrow’s grid with his penalty.

Max Verstappen abandoned his final lap and stays third, which will become the second front-row berth for tomorrow’s race.

So it’ll be a Leclerc-Verstappen front row tomorrow morning at 8am for lights out.