How Did Norris Secure Pole Position at the Las Vegas GP Ahead of Verstappen and Sainz?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Lando Norris achieved pole position for the Las Vegas GP.
- The qualifying session was entirely wet, impacting driver performances.
- Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz secured second and third positions.
- Oscar Piastri encountered difficulties, finishing in fifth.
- Safety incidents included Alex Albon's collision with barriers.
Las Vegas, Nov 22 (NationPress) Lando Norris has secured the pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, demonstrating his skill as the McLaren driver and current Drivers' Championship leader in challenging wet conditions. He outpaced Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, while his title contender Oscar Piastri finished in fifth place.
This achievement represents Norris's third consecutive pole position, clocking a time of 1m 47.934s, which was nearly three-tenths quicker than Verstappen during a Qualifying session that remained wet throughout.
Carlos Sainz continued to impress with a strong performance, finishing ahead of George Russell, who had topped both Q1 and Q2 sessions amid the challenging conditions.
Piastri found himself in fifth place after going off track at Turn 12 during his final effort, following a close battle with Isack Hadjar's Racing Bulls.
The second Racing Bulls car, driven by Liam Lawson, settled for P6. The top-10 was rounded out by Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, Hadjar, Charles Leclerc's Ferrari—which also ran wide at Turn 12 on its last lap—and Pierre Gasly's Alpine.
Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber narrowly missed the Q3 cut, finishing P11, followed by Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), the two Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, as well as Franco Colapinto from Alpine.
Alex Albon was eliminated in Q1 after hitting the barriers at Turn 16 in the last minutes, damaging the front-right suspension of his Williams.
He was joined in the drop zone by Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber, and Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari finished last among the 20 entrants, unable to find performance on the wet tyres.