Lando Norris secures pole position in chaotic qualifying session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, moving him one step closer to his maiden world title. The British driver from McLaren clocked a blistering lap time of 1m 47.934s to outpace Red Bull's Max Verstappen by nearly three-tenths of a second.
Verstappen, who has a critical race ahead, is now under pressure to avoid losing nine points or more to Norris in the championship standings. The Dutch driver will need to pull off a miraculous comeback if he wants to stay in contention for the title.
Carlos Sainz put on a strong show for Williams, securing third place and ending George Russell's dominance of qualifying. The Mercedes driver was unable to replicate his impressive performances in Q1 and Q2, settling for fourth place behind Norris.
Oscar Piastri, who trails Norris by 24 points in the standings, will need to improve dramatically if he wants to avoid complicating his title bid further. His teammate Lando Norris's dominance continues to put pressure on the Australian driver.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar both impressed with strong performances, securing sixth and eighth places respectively. Fernando Alonso sandwiched between them in seventh, while Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton suffered a disastrous qualifying session, struggling for grip during the first segment and ending up last after pure pace. This marked the first time in his 19-year F1 career that he qualified dead last based on speed.
The starting grid for Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix is as follows:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:47.934
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) - +0.323
3. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - +0.362
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - +0.869
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - +1.027
6. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - +1.128
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - +1.532
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - +1.620
9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - +1.938
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - +3.606
The Las Vegas Grand Prix race is set to start at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 22.
Verstappen, who has a critical race ahead, is now under pressure to avoid losing nine points or more to Norris in the championship standings. The Dutch driver will need to pull off a miraculous comeback if he wants to stay in contention for the title.
Carlos Sainz put on a strong show for Williams, securing third place and ending George Russell's dominance of qualifying. The Mercedes driver was unable to replicate his impressive performances in Q1 and Q2, settling for fourth place behind Norris.
Oscar Piastri, who trails Norris by 24 points in the standings, will need to improve dramatically if he wants to avoid complicating his title bid further. His teammate Lando Norris's dominance continues to put pressure on the Australian driver.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar both impressed with strong performances, securing sixth and eighth places respectively. Fernando Alonso sandwiched between them in seventh, while Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton suffered a disastrous qualifying session, struggling for grip during the first segment and ending up last after pure pace. This marked the first time in his 19-year F1 career that he qualified dead last based on speed.
The starting grid for Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix is as follows:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:47.934
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) - +0.323
3. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - +0.362
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - +0.869
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - +1.027
6. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - +1.128
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - +1.532
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - +1.620
9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - +1.938
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - +3.606
The Las Vegas Grand Prix race is set to start at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 22.
and the grid looks super tight this weekend. think lando norris has an easy run for now but max verstappen needs to step up his game ASAP 
meanwhile lewis hamilton struggles are my weak point lol who had a horrible q1 like him? but seriously, racing in vegas is gonna be insane 
. and what's up with lewis hamilton? 19 years in the game and he can't even qualify top 10 anymore, it's crazy 
. anyways gotta give it up to sainz and lawson for putting on a good show they're gonna be racing hard tomorrow 
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and now he's like last on the grid it's crazy. but at the same time i gotta give some props to lando norris he's on fire 
securing pole position and all that. max verstappen is in trouble now tho 
if he loses points to him, his championship hopes are shot. and what can you say about george russell? he was dominating the whole session but then just gets beat by sainz 
anyway, it's gonna be a wild race on sat 
i feel bad for max verstappen tho, he needs to bring his A game if he wants to catch up with lan do Norris. and poor lewis hamilton 
. He needs to pull off a miracle if he wants to stay in contention, but Norris is on fire 
. This should be lit! 
. Lando Norris, congrats I guess, you must be super happy about that pole position 
. But seriously, this was quite a chaotic session and it'll be interesting to see how Verstappen recovers from here. Hopefully for his sake... and not too much pressure on himself, right? 
. I mean, he's one of the best drivers out there and this is the first time he's ever qualified last based on speed alone. That's crazy! 
! A thrilling Grand Prix with so many talented drivers would be amazing 
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. But on the other hand, Verstappen needs to step up his game because losing nine points or more to Norris would be a huge setback for him, and it's not like he hasn't been in tough situations before 
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, can't imagine how stressful that must be for him 
! The Vegas GP is shaping up to be a thrilling race 
This qualifying session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix has got me wondering... how did George Russell end up fourth with a nearly two-second gap behind Lando Norris? 
19 years in f1 and it still hurts 
. I went there with my squad last weekend and we were all like "wow, this is so good!" The crust was perfect, not too crispy or soggy. And the flavors, oh man! They really got it right. I'm pretty sure I ate an entire pie by myself... no regrets 
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like a bad rash. Norris is literally one step away from that maiden world title, and it's hard not to feel bad for Verstappen who needs a miracle comeback 
. On the other hand, George Russell got destroyed by Sainz, what a shock 
, you can't put your best foot forward if you're not putting in the effort 
. It's going to be a tough day out there for Lewis Hamilton after that qualifying session 
️, but can he keep it up and win that championship? Only time will tell 
. It's going to be an intense battle between Norris and Verstappen, can't wait to see what happens come Sunday! Fingers crossed for a safe and thrilling race 
. Maybe Norris will do it? He's so close to that maiden title