Las Vegas Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Fittingly for Las Vegas, the team rolled the dice in Q1 and gambled on using just one set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires on each car – waiting for the street track to evolve and firing both out on flying runs several minutes into the night session. The move paid off and Q2 beckoned after Hulkenberg clocked a 1:33.920 (P11) to advance out of Q1 – Magnussen joining his teammate with a 1:33.991 (P13).

Armed with two new sets of softs in Q2 Magnussen’s maiden stint delivered a 1:33.521 lap. The Dane bettered that on his second set of fresh rubber, earning a 1:33.297, but it wasn’t quite enough to move through into Q3 with Magnussen finishing up P12 at the checkered flag. Hulkenberg’s first outing in Q2 saw the German record a 1:33.273 and he too went faster again on set two. A 1:33.114 stint placed Hulkenberg P10 – the reward a spot in Q3.

Q3 subsequently saw Hulkenberg earn P9 on the grid for Saturday’s night race on his final set of soft tires (1:33.062), with George Russell claiming pole position for Mercedes (1:32.312) ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1:32.410).



Nico Hulkenberg:

“Around this track you always think there could’ve been more, but it’s tough. With the low-grip feeling, sometimes you try more and massively overstep and lose it, it’s a very fine line here and it’s challenging for everyone. All in all, it was a decent qualifying but I would’ve liked to have been a bit more ahead – I think P6 was only half a tenth away – so that would’ve made me happier, but we’ll try and race well tomorrow. We have a good race car, so I’m optimistic.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“There were some decent laps there, it just didn’t seem like we had the pace from practice. There’s a bit of a question mark there, as I had expected us to be best of the rest, and suddenly I was behind a few others and not sure why. P12 is still a spot we can score points from, it’s a long race and it’s not over at all.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Qualifying was a bit disappointing; I think we underperformed a little bit. P9 and P12 is still a decent position for tomorrow to go and fight for points from – that’s the aim.”

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix – Friday November 22
Location:  Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada
Layout: 6.201-kilometer (3.853-mile), 17-turn circuit 
Weather: Clear
Air Temps: 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Hulkenberg qualified 9th, Magnussen qualified 12th

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Magnussen: 9th overall (1:33.883), 13 laps 
Hulkenberg: 11th overall (1:34.908), 15 laps
Fastest: George Russell of Mercedes (1:33.570)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Hulkenberg: 11th overall (1:33.920) – Advanced to Q2
Magnussen: 13th overall (1:33.991) – Advanced to Q2
Fastest: George Russell of Mercedes (1:33.186)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:33.114) – Advanced to Q3 
Magnussen: 12th overall (1:33.297) 
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:32.567)

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Hulkenberg: 9th overall (1:33.062) 
Pole: George Russell of Mercedes (1:32.312)