P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lando Norris took a further step towards becoming world champion with pole position in a soaking wet Las Vegas.
Lando Norris secured a crucial pole position in challenging wet conditions at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri settling for fifth place. The rain shower before and during qualifying made conditions extremely difficult, but the circuit improved as the session progressed. Norris delivered a heroic late effort in Q3 to claim his third consecutive pole position with a time of 1m 47.934. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz followed him, with George Russell in fourth. The rain during qualifying made driving treacherous, resulting in Lewis Hamilton shockingly qualifying last for the first time in his F1 career.
In Q2, Lance Stroll’s gamble to switch to intermediate tyres backfired, leading to his elimination from qualifying. Nico Hulkenberg qualified 11th, ahead of Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman, and Franco Colapinto. Piastri was in 10th, with Russell setting the fastest time. In Q1, Alexander Albon crashed, and Hamilton surprisingly ended up in last place on the grid. The drivers faced challenging visibility and track conditions throughout the qualifying session in Sin City.
