Lando Norris said his march to pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was “stressful as hell” as he ticked off another box in his bid to win the Drivers’ world Championship by mastering a wet and wild qualifying session in Sin City.
In treacherous conditions on the Strip, Norris saw off Max Verstappen by 0.323 seconds, while Oscar Piastri – Norris’ closest title challenger – could manage only fifth.
Carlos Sainz took third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare debut season for Ferrari took another catastrophic twist after he qualified last in 20th.
Norris leads McLaren team-mate Piastri by 24 points in the standings, with reigning champions Verstappen trailing the British driver by 49.
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With three rounds remaining in the season a maximum haul of 83 points remain up for grabs. However, a triumphant weekend in Vegas for Norris could see him crowned champion next time out in Qatar.
“I had a nap before qualifying, and I was expecting it to be dry and I woke up and saw it was wet,” said Norris after securing his spot at the head of the grid for Sunday’s race.
“I thought: ‘Oh crap, this is not going to well’. It is so easy to crash when it is like this so it is rewarding to be on pole.
“It was stressful as hell. It is so slippery out there that as soon as you hit the kerb you snap the car but it was good enough for P1.
“The pace has been good all weekend. I didn’t expect to be as quick as I was in the wet. It is going to be an interesting race with Max up there. Hopefully we can have a good race.”
