F1 News: Las Vegas GP Starting Grid After Penalties Bring Bad News For Carlos Sainz And Lance Stroll

The qualifying session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix produced unexpected results compared to the last few Grands Prix, particularly with the P5 and P6 finishes from Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant. However, some penalties have brought about changes to the grid configuration.

The drivers that bore the brunt from the penalties include Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll- both bearing ten-place and five-place grid drops respectively, which caused other positions below them to move up the order.

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Here's what the starting grid looks like for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix:

1. Charles Leclerc

2. Max Verstappen

3. George Russell

4. Pierre Gasly

5. Alex Albon

6. Logan Sargeant

7. Valtteri Bottas

8. Kevin Magnussen

9. Fernando Alonso

10. Lewis Hamilton

11. Sergio Perez

12. Carlos Sainz

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. Daniel Ricciardo

15. Lando Norris

16. Esteban Ocon

17. Zhou Guanyu

18. Oscar Piastri

19. Lance Stroll

20. Yuki Tsunoda

The Penalties And Grid Changes

Sainz took a big hit with a controversial ten-place grid drop for exceeding his season's allocated parts limit after replacing an energy store due to significant damage incurred during FP1. The Ferrari driver hit a drain cover at speeds exceeding 300 kph, and he now starts 12th after the grid penalty.

Stroll faced a five-place grid penalty for the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he overtook Carlos Sainz under yellow flag conditions in free practice three. The yellow flags were displayed following Alex Albon's collision with the barrier at Turn 5.

The front row comprises Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, while Mercedes driver George Russell starts P3 ahead of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly. The unexpected highlight came from Williams, especially Sargeant, who delivered his best qualifying performance this season.

Unfortunately for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, he starts 10th after a challenging qualifying round, followed by Red Bull's Sergio Perez in P11.