Ferrari Takes Pole, American Logan Sargeant 6th In Formula One Las Vegas Qualifying

By Gary Gastelu |

Nov 18, 2023

Lucky Logan Sargeant put in the lap of his life to get the seventh-fastest qualifying time for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix.

That means the American Williams Racing driver will start on the third row in sixth, with second-place qualifier Carlos Sainz dropping to 12th due to a 10-spot grid penalty.

It’s Sargeant’s best-ever qualifying performance and comes after a string of five straight last place finishes.

"HAVE SOME OF THAT!" ðŸ“»@LoganSargeant secures P6 for the race, the best grid position of his F1 career to date! ðŸ¦…#LasVegasGP #F1 @WilliamsRacing pic.twitter.com/hR5jeh6zWz
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 18, 2023

“Just nice to see what we’ve been working on come together,” Sargeant said.

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Sargeant scored his first F1 point with a 10th place finish in the feature race at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin.

Sargeant will be starting alongside teammate Alexander Albon, who beat him by .190 sec.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will be on the front row with Mercedes driver George Russell and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly behind them in third and fourth.

Danish driver Kevin Magnussen grabbed the eighth spot for the American-owned Haas F1 team.

Sainz was penalized after damaging his car in the race weekend’s first practice session when he hit a what was later clarified as a “water valve cover” that had come loose from the street.

The moment Carlos Sainz hit a drain cover on the Las Vegas strip, causing FP1 to be cancelled ðŸ‘€ pic.twitter.com/KIMbuZoteY
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 17, 2023

The incident required his team to replace part of the car’s power unit, which put it beyond the season allotment. Despite the circumstances being out of his control, there was no leeway in the rules to waive the penalty.

The session was abandoned as track workers secured several dozen covers around the circuit with quick-sealing cement and asphalt.

Here’s the full grid for Saturday night’s race, which is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. PT.