There were few surprises during the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix's Free Practice 3 session on Friday, November 22. However, the Qualifying event later in the evening ended with a red flag after Williams Racing F1 Team driver Franco Colapinto crashed into a concrete wall.
Colapinto hit the wall with a 50G force, requiring a mandatory medical checkup. Today, Williams announced that Colapinto was "declared fit to race" in the Grand Prix.
Recommended Videos Free Practice 3 results
At first glance, the fastest lap times of the top ten drivers during Free Practice 3 aren't surprising because Mercedes and McLaren drivers also did well in FP1 and FP2. Reigning World Champion Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had the fifth-fastest lap. One surprise is Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was not in the top ten, because the Ferraris are fast on the Las Vegas circuit.
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Free Practice sessions are indeed just that, practice, as teams experiment with different settings, tires, and strategies. The Qualifying session is when the order of finish counts because it determines the order on the Grand Prix starting grid.
Place Driver Team 1 George Russell Mercedes 2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 4 Lando Norris McLaren 5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 7 Alex Albon Williams 8 Franco Colapinto Williams 9 Kevin Magnussen Haas 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine LVGP 2024 Qualifying results
The Qualifying round put Verstappen in the third row in P5 along with Lando Norris in P6, his only rival for the Championship. If Verstappen finishes the LVGP with ahead of Norris, Verstappen will will the season title. Norris has to gain at least three points more than Verstappen to stay in the running. There are other storylines in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, including the four-way competition for the Constructors' Championship. with McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and even Mercedes. Most of the attention will be on Verstappen and Norris.
Starting Position Driver Team 1 George Russell Mercedes 2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 3 Pierre Gasly Alpine 4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 6 Lando Norris McLaren 7 Yuki Tsunoda RB Honda '8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 9 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 13 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 14 Franco Colapinto Williams 15 Liam Lawson RB Honda 16 Sergio Perez Red Bull 17 Fernando Alonzo Aston Martin 18 Alex Albon Williams 19 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Editors' Recommendations F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Four teams dress up with special race care livery F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024 preview: Max could seal the Championship F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson take NASCAR challenge 2025 F1 Grand Prix calendar of events and races Alpine F1 team will use Mercedes power units and gearboxes starting in 2026