Norris takes pole in wet qualifying at Las Vegas

Lando Norris took pole position in Las Vegas when track conditions improved in the final minutes of Q3. Norris beat Max Verstappen by three tenths in a qualifying session that took place entirely in the rain.

George Russell had dominated Q1 and Q2 with the fastest times when there was more water on the asphalt. The Mercedes was able to generate temperature in the intermediate tyres better than any other car, creating grip where others were sliding. But when the track began to partially dry in Q3, Russell ended up fourth.

Verstappen qualified second for Red Bull Racing. Carlos Sainz completed the top 3 for Williams, confirming the team's good form in recent races.

Mercedes Loses Advantage

Russell was the fastest in Q1 and Q2 by significant margins over his rivals. The W16 worked better than any other car when the amount of water was higher, but that superiority disappeared when conditions changed in Q3.

The FIA deleted three of his laps for exceeding track limits at turns 8 and 12, where water had accumulated. Russell pushed the limit on every attempt, taking more risks than others to compensate for the Mercedes's performance drop.

Piastri Ends Up in the Run-Off Area

Oscar Piastri was running with competitive pace when he found himself wheel-to-wheel with Isack Hadjar at turn 12. Both were optimistic, Piastri ended up in the run-off area and his final opportunity was frustrated. Piastri qualified fifth.

Liam Lawson finished sixth for Racing Bulls, his best qualifying result since joining the team. Fernando Alonso put the Aston Martin seventh, completing the session without any laps deleted for track limits.

Hadjar ended up eighth, although the FIA deleted his best Q3 time for going off at turn 8. Charles Leclerc qualified ninth for Ferrari after running long at turn 12 on his final attempt. Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 for Alpine.

Albon Breaks Suspension

Alexander Albon lost control on the exit of turn 16 during the decisive minutes of Q1. The impact with the barrier broke the right front suspension of the Williams and ended his qualifying in 16th position.

The accident brought out yellow flags in sector 18, which interrupted several improvement attempts from other competitors.

Nico Hülkenberg was the first driver eliminated in 11th position for Kick Sauber. Lance Stroll was 12th for Aston Martin, Esteban Ocon 13th for Haas, Oliver Bearman 14th also for Haas, and Franco Colapinto 15th for Alpine.

Hamilton Last with a Gap of Over a Second

Lewis Hamilton qualified 20th and last for Ferrari, over a second behind Yuki Tsunoda in 19th position. The gap was the largest of the entire qualifying session.

The FIA deleted two of his laps for exceeding track limits at turns 8 and 12. Kimi Antonelli was 17th for Mercedes, Gabriel Bortoleto 18th for Kick Sauber, and Tsunoda 19th for Red Bull Racing.

The FIA deleted 47 lap times for exceeding track limits. Turns 1, 8, 12, and 14 saw the most infractions, where the water unpredictably reduced grip.

Q2 was stopped for nine minutes when several competitors went off track in the final sectors. Slippery surface alerts in sectors 11 and 12 were issued six consecutive times between Q1 and Q2, complicating the search for optimal temperature in the intermediate tyres.

Qualifying Results - Las Vegas GP 2025

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3
1	#4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:55.473	1:51.379	1:47.934
2	#1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:53.458	1:51.593	1:48.257
3	#55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:54.873	1:51.144	1:48.296
4	#63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:53.144	1:50.935	1:48.803
5	#81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:54.544	1:52.126	1:48.961
6	#30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:54.828	1:51.621	1:49.062
7	#14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:53.739	1:51.865	1:49.466
8	#6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	1:55.613	1:51.120	1:49.554
9	#16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:54.814	1:51.952	1:49.872
10	#10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:54.432	1:51.760	1:51.540
11	#27	Nico Hülkenberg	Kick Sauber	1:54.555	1:52.781	N/A
12	#18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:54.416	1:52.850	N/A
13	#31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:54.635	1:52.987	N/A
14	#87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:56.016	1:53.094	N/A
15	#43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:54.847	1:53.683	N/A
16	#23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:56.220	N/A	N/A
17	#12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:56.314	N/A	N/A
18	#5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	1:56.674	N/A	N/A
19	#22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	1:56.798	N/A	N/A
20	#44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:57.115	N/A	N/A