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.
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.
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 |
