George Russell has secured pole position for Saturday night's Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The focus in Nevada is whether Max Verstappen can wrap up the Formula 1 title, something that will be achieved if Lando Norris does not outscore him by at least two points.
However, it was Mercedes driver Russell who took centre stage during Friday night's qualifying, finishing 0.098 seconds ahead of nearest challenge Carlos Sainz Jr in the Ferrari.
Russell's performance was reward for Mercedes who had looked the fastest during three practice sessions, but Lewis Hamilton will start in 10th after failing to deliver in Q3.
There was a shock on the second row as Alpine's Pierre Gasly - who has not finished higher than ninth all season - was third quickest and will start alongside Charles Leclerc.
Pierre was pumped after his P3 in quali 😄 (sound on, not too loud! 🔊)#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/yr8N4YqFx0
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024
Where will Verstappen, Norris start?
Verstappen and Norris will start on the third row, the Red Bull driver and Championship leader perhaps crucially sitting ahead of his title rival.
Perhaps the most discouraging statistic for Norris is that he was almost seven tenths of a second adrift of Russell's Mercedes when he realistically needs to record a race win to maintain a glimmer of a hope of a surprise title win.
Yuki Tsunoda, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton - in the RB, McLaren, Haas and Mercedes respectively - complete the top 10.
How does the rest of the grid look?
The starting grid in Vegas 👀#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/UHpYItFJOi
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024
Darren Plant
