Charles Leclerc converted his strong practice pace into pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix during a thrilling qualifying session around the all-new Strip Circuit, with the Ferrari man getting the better of team mate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Leclerc was consistently quick throughout Saturday morning’s running and delivered a 1m 32.726s in the decisive pole shootout to finish half a tenth clear of Sainz, who will drop 10 places on the grid due to an engine penalty.

While both Leclerc and Sainz improved on their second Q3 runs, Verstappen could not find any more pace and returned to the pits, leaving him third from George Russell, who was the sole remaining Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton dropped out in Q2.

Several drivers starred in the tricky, cool conditions, with Pierre Gasly putting his Alpine an incredible fifth, Williams team mates Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant taking P6 and P7 and Valtteri Bottas ending eighth fastest for Alfa Romeo.

Hamilton’s Q2 exit left him down in 11th, as he radioed the Mercedes pit wall to explain that there was nothing left in his car, though he will at least gain a place for the race due to Sainz’s aforementioned grid penalty.

Perez, having sat out the second segment’s final runs, had to settle for 12th from Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll – who will take a five-place grid drop for a yellow flag breach in practice – and AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo.