Norris’ Hot Streak Continues with F1 Pole at Wet Las Vegas Grand Prix

Heavy rain on Friday night threw a curveball into proceedings at a Las Vegas circuit already lacking grip, but Lando Norris’ hot streak continued as he stormed to pole position.

Norris, fresh from back-to-back pole positions and victories in Mexico City and São Paulo, mastered the tricky conditions in rain-hit Nevada to secure top spot for Saturday night’s race.

Norris holds a 24-point lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished the session in fifth position.

“It was so slippery out there, as soon as you hit the curb you snap one way, then the other, but it was good enough, good enough for P1,” Norris said.

Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, 49 points behind Norris, will join the McLaren driver on the front row of the grid as he strives to keep his slim hopes of another title alive.

“It was really, really slippery out there, it’s already slippery in the dry but in the wet it’s not fun, this felt more like driving on ice—it took time for the tires to work,” Verstappen said. “I struggled a lot to have any kind of grip, on the final lap you risk a bit more but it was not enough to fight for first, but still to be on the front row is good for us.”

Williams’ Carlos Sainz shone as he finished third-quickest, having displayed strong performance throughout the course of the three-part qualifying session.

Ferrari endured another fraught day as Charles Leclerc made a mistake on his final Q3 lap, limiting him to ninth spot, while Lewis Hamilton was slowest of all and is set to start from the rear of the 20-car grid.

“Embarrassing… f***ing hell,” radioed Leclerc on his way back to the pits. “I don’t get how we can be so off the pace, there’s zero grip, zero f***ing grip.”

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, fresh from a breakout weekend at São Paulo, was another to fall at the first hurdle and will start from 17th place.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell, who claimed victory from pole position at Las Vegas in 2024, is set to start from fourth position.

Despite the tricky track conditions—particularly in Q1—the session passed without any stoppages, with only Williams’ Alex Albon finding the wall after sliding wide at the final complex.