🔗 Share this article Norris Claims Pole in Wet Vegas Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri Falls to Fifth McLaren's Lando Norris executed a masterful lap in difficult wet conditions on the Las Vegas city track, claiming the top spot for the upcoming Grand Prix and moving a significant step toward his maiden F1 world championship. Title Battle Heats Up as Norris Increases Advantage The title race leader beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took P2, while his nearest competitor—teammate Oscar Piastri—could only manage fifth, giving Norris a golden opportunity to extend his points gap in the championship. Carlos Sainz took third, with Mercedes' George Russell finishing in fourth place. Lewis Hamilton Suffers Dismal Session in Vegas Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton experienced a disappointing session, ending up in 20th place after struggling to get the tires to perform in the wet conditions during the first qualifying session and getting unlucky with a late caution. His car has faced problems warming up tires in rainy conditions all season, but Charles Leclerc performed better, finishing in ninth place and posting a time significantly faster than Hamilton in the first session. "The full-wet tyre was terrible," Hamilton said. "I couldn't see anything. I believe I hit the wall somewhere. I just couldn't even see the corners." Following showing impressive pace in the last practice, he was hugely disappointing once more in what has been a trying first season with the Italian team. "It was a great day," he commented. "I just didn't get a lap at the end. I felt like we were quickest and then you come out of qualifying 20th. This year is definitely the hardest year." Norris Executes When It Counted For Norris, as he aims to claim his first F1 championship, he performed flawlessly by not only securing pole but also importantly out-qualifying his teammate on a track where McLaren had anticipated to struggle. He currently is ahead of the Australian by 24 points and Verstappen by 49 points. As things stand, finishing in front of his teammate in the remaining 3 races would be enough to secure the championship. In fact, if he can increase his lead to 26 points by the end of the next round in the UAE, it would be sufficient to win the championship at that venue. Strong Performance Persists for McLaren He is very much on a winning streak, finding his groove with the car at a crucial juncture in the championship, just as his teammate has struggled. The British driver was thirty-four points behind his teammate after the Dutch GP in August, but from that point he has produced repeatedly top results, including pole position and victories in the last two events in Mexico and Brazil—sufficient to shift the championship battle in his favour. McLaren Overcomes Predictions in Las Vegas The driver and his team had played down their chances for the event in Las Vegas, on a track that is not ideal for their car due to slippery surface and cool temperatures, and the team had not finished above sixth in the previous two events here. Yet, they demonstrated outstanding performance in the qualifying session in the rain this occasion. Difficult Weather Challenge Competitors The sessions opened in steady precipitation, which made what is already a very low-grip surface in cool temperatures an major challenge, marking the first time the session has been held in the rain in Vegas and requiring the use of rain tires. In fact, on his opening laps, Norris expressed his worry as he went wide. "Aqua-planing," he said. "It's impossible to stay on course." Session Progresses with Drama Yet, as the precipitation eased off, the circuit started drying quickly on the racing line and the times came down. Nevertheless, the margins were narrow, as Alex Albon discovered when he was caught by surprise on his final lap in the first segment, striking the barrier and sustaining harm that finished his qualifying in 16th. The rain did stop, but the surface was still difficult to manage for the remainder of the qualifying, and with rain tires still being used, the drivers remained on track and kept putting in times as the dry line got better and the times dropped. Last attempts were crucial, with the Australian only just making it through to the second segment in 10th place. Thrilling Conclusion to Session In the final segment, the squads changed to intermediate tyres, once more continuing to stay out and completing circuits, making strategy essential for a final lap showdown. Pole position changed hands multiple times as the timer counted down, with the McLaren driver posting a preliminary time with his nose in front before the very last hot laps. Verstappen then took it as he completed his final attempt, but behind him, Norris was on a charge and, despite a big wobble through corners 14, 15 and 16, had already done enough for a impressive pole position with a lap of 1min 47.934secs. He was untouchable with a caution in his wake as Leclerc went wide and Piastri also had to take evasive action to avoid Isack Hadjar.