Las Vegas Grand Prix Will Feature Starting Grid That No One Expected

The Las Vegas Grand Prix goes lights out on Saturday night (although, if you’re on the East Coast like I am, it’ll be on Sunday morning), and it’s going to be an incredibly important race for both the World Drviers’ Championship — which Red Bull’s Max Verstappen can clinch — as well as the World Constructors’ standings, with several close battles for millions in prize money playing out up and down the standings.

And while there’s no guarantee that this year’s race will be as great as last year’s inaugural race down the Las Vegas Strip, a totally unexpected starting grid should help.

READ: FIVE BIG QUESTIONS GOING INTO THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX

One of the stories so far this weekend has been that Mercedes showed up in Las Vegas with what sure looked like some serious pace. Lewis Hamilton topped the first two practice sessions while teammate George Russell topped the time sheet in FP3.

Well, that pace continued into qualifying with Russell stealing pole from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on his final flying lap.

I think it would have been very possible for Mercedes to get both cars in the first two rows, maybe even a first–row lockout, but Mercedes took a while to get Hamilton on track for his final flying lap, and when he finally got out there he made a mistake and will start the race in P10.

Here’s the complete grid for Saturday night/Sunday morning’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix:

Notice anything odd? How about Pierre Gasly with a completely unexpected P3 start?! What a lap from him, but it wasn’t his only one. His lap in Q2 was fourth-fastest.

This comes after Alpine had both drivers on the podium in Brazil and with Ocon starting just outside the points in P11, it’s a prime opportunity for Alpine to snag a nice double points finish to help in their fight with Haas and RB for P6 in the Constructors’ standings (though, it’s worth noting that RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen will also start the race in points scoring positions in P7 and P9 respectively.

Watch Out For The Dirty Side Of The Grid…

Meanwhile, Ferrari‘s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc — last year’s polesitter — will start on the first two rows on the dirty side of the grid in P2 and P4.

Leclerc was on provisional pole late in qualifying but lost it to Sainz, who, in turn, lost it to Russell. Starting up front is massive for the Ferraris as they’re chasing McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.

That solid starting position is an even bigger deal with both McLaren’s behind them Norris in P6 and Piastri in P8 (that dirty side will be something to watch at the start).

Then, the other big thing to look out for, is Max Verstappen starting in P5. Crucially, that’s ahead of Norris, and if he can stay in front of him, the Drivers Championship is sealed.

If Norris wants to leave Vegas with a shot at catching Verstappen in the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, he’ll need to outscore the Dutchman by 3 points.

I think we’re in for an absolute classic tonight. I have no clue how this will shake out, especially on a track that proved to be good for overtaking, but has been slick at times this weekend. 

Also, cold temperatures could make the short run into Turn 1 interesting as the front-runners’ tires and brakes will have a lot of time to cool off while they sit on the grid waiting for the rest of the field to get into position after the formation lap.

It’s going to get very, very interesting.