Ferrari has been the form team around the high-speed Las Vegas Strip Circuit, where its usually problematic lack of downforce is a virtue and its slow-speed corner performance helps it to excel.
But the Italian team’s hopes for a perfect weekend have been partially derailed by a bizarre 10-place grid penalty handed to Sainz for changing engine parts following a disastrous circuit failure during Thursday practice when a water valve cover freed itself from the track surface and punched a hole through his chassis.
Despite the unusual circumstances of the accident, the stewards said there was no rule that allowed them to let Sainz off the hook. Speculation suggested at least one team was willing to protest any informal allowance granted to Ferrari, forcing the Spaniard to drop from second to 12th on the grid.
“I’m still disappointed about yesterday,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m still in a bad mood. I’m trying not to show it too much.
“[Recovery] depends on how the start goes and the graining on the tyres and how easy it is to overtake… but I think it’s going to be tricky.”
The penalty promotes Max Verstappen to the front row behind pole-getter Leclerc.
“Obviously Las Vegas is an incredible event, and to be starting from pole tomorrow is great,” Leclerc said. “I hope we can put it all together and win here.”
Verstappen, however, was optimistic his usually formidable pace would return to him in race conditions.
“I think already the whole weekend so far we’ve been lacking a little bit of one lap performance,” he said. “I hope of course tomorrow in the race we’re good on the tires again and we can work our way forward.”
Sainz’s penalty promotes Mercedes driver George Russell and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to the second row in third and fourth.
Williams enormously impressed to lock out the third row, with Thai driver Alex Albon heading American rookie Logan Sargeant for fifth and sixth.
It’s the second time Williams has got both cars into the top 10 this year, benefitting from the low-downforce requirements of the track, and P6 is the best qualifying result of out-of-contract Sargeant’s F1 career.
Valtteri Bottas will start seventh ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, who had qualified 11th before penalties after looking fractionally off the pace all weekend, missing out on Q3 by just 0.028 seconds.
Sergio Pérez, however, had his team to blame for his 12th place qualification. Red Bull Racing called him back to pit lane with three minutes remaining with him down in sixth, leaving him helpless but to watch five drivers behind him push him down the order and out of Q2.
Nico Hülkenberg qualified 13th ahead of Lance Stroll, who will serve a five-place grid penalty for ignoring double waved yellow during third practice, dropping him to 18th.
Daniel Ricciardo qualified 15th but will rise a place after penalties.
McLaren suffered a surprise double Q1 elimination, with Lando Norris knocked out 16th by just 0.02 seconds and rookie Oscar Piastri stuck in 19th a further 0.147s adrift. The team had been worried that its slow-corner weakness would cost it dearly around the Vegas street circuit, and so it proved, with the track delivering the team its first double Q1 knockout since the Miami Grand Prix in May.
Esteban Ocon was a furious 17th after being forced off the track at the first turn of his final lap by Verstappen, the Dutchman clumsily enacting retribution for a pass earlier on the front straight after a tangle with several other cars jockeying for position.
Zhou Guanyu qualified 18th, with Yuki Tsunoda in 20th, the Japanese driver having run off the road at turn 5 on his final flyer.