Lando Norris beats Max Verstappen to Las Vegas Grand Prix pole as Oscar Piastri only fifth

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Lando Norris will start the Las Vegas Grand Prix from pole position after qualifying got off to a difficult start due to heavy rainfall.

Rain drenched the track between FP3 and qualifying, which presented a unique challenge for the drivers with the slippery surface and cooler temperatures.

It is a crucial qualifying session for the remaining three title contenders, with McLaren struggling in wet conditions previously.

Six drivers took a risk with putting full wets on their cars due to how damp the circuit was, including Oscar Piastri who opted for an alternate to Lando Norris’ intermediates.

Norris went deep at Turn 14 in the early stages of Q1, complaining of aquaplaining and saying he “can’t keep it on track”, as a number of drivers went off the track as they got to grips with the conditions.

Visibility was increasingly getting worse during the first part of qualifying, resulting in some interesting results with eight minutes remaining, including Pierre Gasly on provisional pole ahead of Ollie Bearman.

Pressure increased for Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc with seven minutes remaining , with both drivers having their lap times deleted. Verstappen desperately needed a clean lap to continue into Q2 if he wanted to keep his championship chances alive.

In treacherous conditions Alex Albon found the barrier around the final corners, destroying the front of his Williams. The Thai-British driver was chasing his final flying lap time but remained in the drop zone and out of the session.

Shock came for Kimi Antonelli who struggled with the rain around the Las Vegas track, aborting his final flying lap and finding himself out of Q1 after a really strong performance in FP2 yesterday.

The rain stopped ahead of the delayed Q2, which saw significant improvements to track conditions for the second part of qualifying. Drivers looked more confident during the opening laps of the session, although there were still some twitchy moments in the corners.

It was a difficult run for the McLaren drivers who found themselves in P8 and P9 with just over a minute remaining of the session before Norris quickly improved to go fastest with his final flying lap.

Aston Martin took a gamble to put Lance Stroll onto the intermediate tyres during the Q2 session, but the risk did not pay off for the Canadian, who found himself out.

It was finally time for the inters in Q3, with all cars returning to the track with the change in tyre, having run wets since early in Q1.

Pole position would be settled by whoever can master the track conditions, with the top spot looking like it was anyone’s for the taking during the final part of qualifying.

After initial first laps, Piastri held provisional pole, with Carlos Sainz splitting both of the McLarens in P2. It all came down to who could cross the line last, making the most of the optimal track conditions.

It was a tricky final run for Piastri, who aborted his final flying lap, finding himself in P5 for Sunday’s race. This could be a massive blow for his championship chances with three cars between himself and title leader Norris, including Verstappen and George Russell.