Mercedes' George Russell Secures Pole in Sin City

Mercedes' George Russell on track (LAT Images)

George Russell secured pole position for Mercedes under the dazzling lights of Las Vegas with a commanding lap time of 1:32.312. It was a near-perfect qualifying session for the Brit, who outpaced Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in third.

Reflecting on his performance, an elated Russell said:

"It's incredible to be back on pole. We've been so quick all weekend, and I just knew coming into my last Q3 lap that it was going to be the one that counts. It doesn't matter what happened before then."

While Russell celebrated, teammate Sir Lewis Hamilton had a session to forget. A braking mistake on his first Q3 lap and a costly slide on his second left the seven-time world champion unable to improve, relegating him to 10th on the grid. A stark contrast to Russell’s pole, Hamilton now faces a steep challenge on race day.

Defending champion Max Verstappen starts fifth, hindered by a Red Bull misstep in bringing the wrong spec rear wing - a costly error that hurt straight-line speed on the Vegas Strip.

Post-qualifying, Verstappen admitted:

"We're too slow on the straights, especially in qualifying. You can see our rear wing—it's trimmed down quite a lot around the DRS [Drag Reduction System] flaps. So, when we open DRS, of course, we don't get the gains like others do, and that makes it a bit more complicated around here. But that's our own fault."

This misstep could jeopardize Verstappen’s hopes of sealing his fourth title, as he must outscore McLaren’s Lando Norris by three points. With Norris starting just one spot behind in sixth, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Qualifying was packed with drama from the start, as Q1 delivered major upsets. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, and Williams’ Alex Albon were all eliminated early. Perez, who will start 16th, extended his streak of qualifying woes, while Alonso managed only 17th. Lance Stroll’s struggles continued with a dismal performance, leaving him at the very back of the grid in 20th.

Q2 saw further tension as Williams rookie Franco Colapinto crashed in the final moments, casting doubt over his race-day participation. Meanwhile, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon narrowly missed Q3, settling for 11th. Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu completed the midfield eliminations.

With the grid set and the high-stakes atmosphere of Las Vegas, the Grand Prix promises to be an unmissable spectacle.

Full Qualifying Results:

[P1. George Russell (Mercedes), P2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), P3. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), P4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), P5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), P6. Lando Norris (McLaren), P7. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), P8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), P9. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), P10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), P11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), P12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), P13. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), P14. Franco Colapinto (Williams), P15. Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri), P16. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), P17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), P18. Alex Albon (Williams), P19. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), P20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)].