Leclerc dominates in Las Vegas and Alonso is surprised by the rebellion of the modest

The delicate commitment to the soft tire, the low temperatures, the timing of the start to have one more attempt, the hassle of the preparatory laps, the exponential improvement of a track that they barely knew through the simulators…. A multitude of factors had to be managed to hit the nail on the head in Las Vegas. Not only with pole position, where Ferrari started as favorite, but to consolidate its lead, as Aston Martin intended.. Charles Leclerc fulfilled the predictions (1:32.726), with 44 thousandths over Carlos Sainz, whose sanction condemns him to twelfth place, while Fernando Alonso left the Silverstone team with a crooked expression.

The Asturian's ninth place, combined with the routine elimination of Lance Stroll in Q2, should not be interpreted in itself as a debacle. However, disappointment is inevitable, since in the last section of Q3, the '14' fell off the cliff in favor of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, not so qualified rivals.. That rebellion by Williams, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Alpine, the modest ones on the grid, frustrated Aston Martin's positive inertia since Interlagos.

Alonso did not get it right with his last attack on the soft tire, unlike Leclerc, who was able to improve the time by almost three tenths.. A definitive blow to his fifth pole of the year, because after his first attempt, Sainz was still 22 thousandths behind, with Verstappen eight hundredths behind, followed by Alonso, half a second behind.. The most terrible thing about the case is that Mad Max resigned beforehand, reserving a set of new soft ones for the race.

McLaren disaster

Red Bull may have hidden reasons for continuing to believe itself above the rest, although it should not underestimate Ferrari's power on a weekend ripe for surprises.. Las Vegas is not strictly Singapore, but the Scuderia maintains a certain optimism to repeat that epic triumph of Sainz in Marina Bay. There are plenty of loose ends in the immense avenues of the casinos and in the winding passage through The Sphere.

To Friday's equality, played without an audience for logistical reasons, were added the enigmas of the last free session, with George Russell at the top of the table plus the red flag after Alex Albon's crash against the wall, five minutes away. end. On a track where two thirds are raced at full throttle, Ferrari presented itself as the reference. More than with the aerodynamic configuration, the engineers had to get it right with the heights of the suspensions, because the times would be closed in the five braking periods.

With such little previous experience, on an asphalt at only 17ºC, no one could be careless in Q1, but McLaren let itself get carried away in an incomprehensible way.. The track improved so quickly that Lando Norris, whose best lap had been erased due to track limits, ended up knocked out by Stroll at the last moment.. Oscar Piastri's penultimate place, only ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, completed the papaya debacle.

While the stewards were taking note of six drivers, including both Mercedes, who had not respected the minimum speed in the pit-lane, Verstappen was involved in a crazy incident with Esteban Ocon. A matter of honor, it seems, where he could have ruined all his options. The three-time champion did not look good, eight tenths behind Leclerc in Q2. And even less to the Red Bull engineers, who lost Sergio Pérez along the way.

The Mexican had scored a 1:33.855, 25 thousandths behind Alonso, who then set the reference. In accordance with the information, they did not return their number 11 car to the asphalt, which had been left behind while the competition was constantly improving.. Lewis Hamilton was doomed to a very similar ruin, who had to abort his last attempt before sobbing: “I couldn't go faster.”

These illustrious absences favored Alonso, who had used two sets of soft tires in Q2 and one in Q1, appearing on the balcony of Verstappen and Russell. Leclerc was far ahead, with an average of half a second over Sainz. The man from Madrid did enough to maintain concentration and not lose the thread. His punishment of 10 places on the grid, after Friday's episode with the sewers, must be interpreted as one of the most arbitrary and incomprehensible of the year.