McLaren’s Lando Norris snatched pole position with a daring final flying lap in a treacherous wet qualifying session, beating Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by three tenths of a second as Carlos Sainz handed Williams a surprise but well deserved third place. 

After narrowly escaping the drop in a very wet Q1 in 13th place and then easing through the damp second session, Norris’s fortunes ebbed and flowed at the start of Q3. However in the closing stages and with track conditions improving rapidly he stretched ahead, going seven tenths clear at the top of the order. He was quickly reeled in Verstappen claimed provisional pole with a lap of 1:48.257. 

Norris managed to cross the line in time to get in an extra lap and across the first two purple sectors Norris went almost a second clear. However, the championship leader almost came undone in the final corners when a lurid slide threatened to ruin his lap but despite the incident, he still crossed the line 0.323s clear of Verstappen to grab his seventh pole of the season. 

At the start of the hour, steady rain meant that the bulk of the field took to the track on Intermediate tyres. However, after a slew of cars aquaplaned off into run-off areas, the entire field moved to the blue-banded full wet tyres

And it was Mercedes’ George Russell who timed his runs best, with the Briton posting a lap of 1:53.144 to beat Verstappen by three tenths of a second. Fernando Alonso took P3 for Aston Marting but further back there was a lucky escape for Norris who scraped through in P13. 

The treacherous conditions and the evolving nature of the track caught out several potential big hitters, however. Williams’ Alex Albon hit the barriers late on and dropped out in 16th, while behind him, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was also headed for the exit, ahead of the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto, the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and most surprisingly the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, with the seven-time champion saying he could not get the full wet tyres to work. 

The start of the second session was delayed due to barrier repairs and debris clearance but although that allowed conditions to further improve as the rain ceased, full wet tyres were still the compound of choice when the 15-minute segment commenced. 

Norris staked an early claim for top spot in Q2. The Briton was first across the line and his 1:53.302 held firm as Russell took second ahead of Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson. Verstappen’s opener of 1:53.835 put him fifth. 

The Dutchman’s second lap was better, though, and with a lap time of 1:52.693 he climbed to top spot. His stay was brief, however, as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri went 0.013s quicker to steal P1. 

The conditions were now improving rapidly and after Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar took turns at the top, Verstappen made his way back to P1 with a lap of 1:51.593 that put him 0.447s clear of Hadjar. 

It was Russell who made the most of the conditions and the Mercedes driver’s late flyer of 1:50.935 earned him top spot ahead of fellow late improvers Hadjar and Carlos Sainz. Norris went through in fourth place, with Verstappen in P5 on 1:51.593. Like his team-mate in Q1, Piastri had a narrow escape, scraping through in P10, ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg who was ruled out ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas pair Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman and in 15th place Alpine’s Franco Colapinto. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:47.934 - -
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:48.257 0.323 0.299
3 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:48.296 0.362 0.335
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:48.803 0.869 0.805
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:48.961 1.027 0.952
6 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:49.062 1.128 1.045
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:49.466 1.532 1.419
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:49.554 1.620 1.501
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:49.872 1.938 1.796
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:51.540 3.606 3.341
11 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:52.781 4.847 4.491
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:52.850 4.916 4.555
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:52.987 5.053 4.682
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:53.094 5.160 4.781
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:53.683 5.749 5.326
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:56.220 8.286 7.677
17 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:56.314 8.380 7.764
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:56.674 8.740 8.098
19 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:56.798 8.864 8.212
20 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:57.115 9.181 8.506