F1 Qualifying Results: Red Bull disaster as HUGE crash brings out red flag

Red Bull have suffered a major blow in their quest for a third straight Formula 1 championship, with Max Verstappen qualifying just fifth for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after Sergio Perez dropped out in Q1.

The reigning champs are trailing McLaren by 48 points, but it was Ferrari – who split the pair in the championship and whose cars both qualified ahead of either Red Bull and McLaren cars – who were the real winners from the session.

However, it was Mercedes' George Russell who took pole position for the Saturday night race, stunning his rivals to take pole ahead of Carlos Sainz and shock second-row sitter Pierre Gasly.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton blame emerges as star at risk of MISSING Las Vegas Grand Prix

READ MORE: FIA announce F1 champion penalty verdict after Las Vegas Grand Prix incident

Franco Colapinto wrecked his Williams with a huge crash at the end of Q2, clipping the inside of a wall to send his car into the outside wall and give his mechanics a long night.

The Dutchman can win the drivers' championship this weekend unless Lando Norris claims three points more than him, although the McLaren sits just one spot behind him on the grid.

READ MORE: FIA announce HUGE Mercedes grid change

F1 Qualifying Results: Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024

1. George Russell [Mercedes] - 1:32:312sec
2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.098sec
3. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +0.352sec
4. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.471sec
5. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - +0.485sec
6. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.696sec
7. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB] - +0.717sec
8. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +0.721sec
9. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas] - +0.750sec
10. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +15.794sec

ELIMINATED IN Q2

11. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
12. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]
13. Zhou Guanyu [Kick Sauber]
14. Franco Colapinto [Williams]
15. Liam Lawson [VCARB]

ELIMINATED IN Q1

16. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
17. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]
18. Alex Albon [Williams]
19. Valtteri Bottas [Kick Sauber]
20. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

READ MORE: F1 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix starting grid with penalties applied

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