Lando Norris has taken pole after a sodden Las Vegas qualifying. A snap of oversteer at turn 16 did little to halt Norris’ progress as he seized pole by over three tenths of a second. Norris called the session “stressful as hell” and expressed surprise at his wet-weather pace.
Max Verstappen could not contend with Norris’ searing pace. He may have briefly taken provisional pole in the dying stages of Q3, but Norris’ two final runs put him beyond the Dutchman’s reach. Despite his fondness for driving in the wet, Verstappen likened the circuit to an ice rink. He may be well placed to attack Norris in the race, but with a 49-point deficit, Verstappen will drop out of championship contention if Norris outscores him by 9 points or more.
The ever-changing conditions meant there was a bevvy of midfield runners in contention throughout qualifying. In the end, it was Carlos Sainz who prevailed with a brilliant run to third, just 0.039s behind Verstappen. Fiercely competitive on the full wets, Sainz admitted to a lack of pace on the intermediate tyres. Even so, the Williams driver said he was optimistic and stated that setup changes between practice and qualifying had led to a turnaround in form. However, Sainz’s optimism may be short-lived as he is currently under investigation for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner in Q2 and could receive a five-place grid penalty.
George Russell did enough to secure fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri, who was forced to abort his final lap due to yellow flags but also admitted to leaving time on the table.
Both Racing Bulls looked punchy throughout as Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar both topped the timesheets in the early stages of Q2. Despite a slight drop off in pace on the intermediates, Lawson qualified sixth with Hadjar in eighth. A crucial result as the team looks to tighten their grip on sixth place in the constructors’ standings.
Heavy rainfall in Q1 and Q2 forced the teams to run the full wet tyres. Aston Martin looked to be bona fide front-runners during this period as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took turns at the top of the table. Alonso ended the final session in seventh, his best qualifying performance since Hungary.
Charles Leclerc suffered numerous lockups throughout qualifying and will line up ninth, one place ahead of Pierre Gasly, who was delighted to secure a Q3 spot despite the ‘mental’ conditions. Nico Hulkenberg had the measure of his teammate and will start 11th ahead of Lance Stroll, whose decision to gamble on the intermediate tyres in Q2 did not pay dividends. A disappointing result given the impressive pace he showed throughout Q1. Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman will start 13th and 14th, respectively, ahead of Franco Colapinto, whose spectacular turn 16 save was not enough to secure a place in Q3. Alex Albon hit the wall at the end of Q1 which locked him into 16th.
Kimi Antonelli struggled for grip on the full wet tyres and could only manage 17th, as did Gabriel Bortoleto in 18th. Yuki Tsunoda failed to make Q2 for the seventh time this season, while Lewis Hamilton set an unwanted personal record. After hitting a bollard while preparing for his final flying lap, a miscommunication with the team meant Hamilton was unable to improve on his initial run. For the first time in his career, the seven-time world champion will start last after setting a time in Q1.
Free practice left little room for race simulations. As a result, tomorrow’s race will be a step into the unknown. What is certain is that Norris has the opportunity to knock Verstappen out of the title fight and put yet more distance between himself and Piastri.
