Sergio Perez suffered from the terrible strategy designed by its engineers and left in Q2 in qualifying for Las Vegas Grand Prix so he had to start in position number 11. The pole position went to Charles Leclercwho added the 23rd of his career to F1all that has Ferrari.
Second place went to Carlos Sainzbut because of his 10 place penalty due to the change in the elements of his car, he will start in 12th place. Max Verstappen on Red Bull.
Qualifying looks like it’s a game where the key is the evolution of the track and it is, but only the race engineers at Czech PEREZwho insisted on putting him on the track at the beginning of each session and exposed him to the elimination that took place in Q2.
The 6,110 street circuits, dirty, green due to lack of use, have increased significantly every minute, so, for example, Max Verstappen and his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase They wait to take tests at the end and leave no room for others to improve their times.
his Czech Perez He asked on the radio the decision of the group led by Hugh Bird and his feeling that something was wrong was realized when he was left out of Q3.
Q1: Ferrari dominates; McLaren nightmare and Checo suffer
In his first attempt, Checo Pérez clocked 1:35.323, .425 thousandths away from Charles Leclerc’s time and even below Logan Sargeant.
For the second time, the Mexican clocked a 1:34.574 which put him just over a second with 7 minutes left on the clock.
Everything seems to indicate that with this he is no longer in danger and can safely advance to Q2, but the rapid evolution of the track has enabled all drivers to improve their times from one minute to the next, so that makes he is a third attempt, but in the Traffic it is impossible for him and he has to live with the uncertainty of waiting to see if he improves.
“Am I safe?” he asked on the radio and was told by his engineer Hugh Bird that it was not certain.
In the end, Checo Pérez advanced well in 13th position, under pressure to end his program soon.
The man from Guadalajara wasn’t the only one with problems at the end of Q1. Ocon, Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas and Zhou formed a team that almost ended in contact between the Frenchman and the Dutchman.
eliminated
- Norris
- Okon
- Zhou
- Plates
- Tsunoda
Q2: Checo Pérez is out of Q2 with a terrible strategy; Ferrari is still dominating
Checo Pérez had a good start with a time of 1:33.955, which put him in front of the Ferraris and under Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.
Pérez’s communication with his engineer indicated that the slow corners were the place of opportunity and without entering the pits, he did a slow lap before making a second test with the same set of tires.
While Verstappen was waiting in the pits, to come out and lead, and then pushed by the Ferraris
That second attempt by Checo Pérez brought a time of 1:33.855 which didn’t seem quite enough to feel in Q3.
“We finished a little early, didn’t we?” asked Checo Pérez, who seemed to sense that the elimination zone was near.
The bet seems dangerous, after the track has developed rapidly, with Ferraris, Verstappen, Alonso, Williams and Mercedes, and even Bottas and Hulkenberg.
The strategy seemed to be bad and it was, when everyone slowly overtook him and sent him to 12th place. A terrible mistake in his garage that he paid dearly for.
eliminated
- Hamilton
- PEREZ
- Hulkenberg
- Walk
- Ricciardo
Q3: Charles took his 23rd pole position
Ferrari showed the muscle that characterizes it from the first contact on the street layout of Las Vegas, but Verstappen is hiding very close, so everything will be decided in the final test and almost anyone who managed to make the last lap will be have a better chance of getting. top of the race, pole position.
In the end, Verstappen had problems in the final test and the pole position was in the hands of the fastest man of the weekend, Charles Leclerc, and although Sainz set the second best time, due to 10 -position penalty he does not start. in the front row.
- PP Charles Leclerc 1:32.726
- Sainz (10-position penalty)
- Verstappen
- Russell
- Gasly
- Albon
- sergeant
- Bottas
- Magnussen
- Alonso
