Thanks to the first Las Vegas pole position of his Formula 1 career, Lando Norris’ bad mood after his afternoon nap was wiped away. “When I woke up from my nap before qualifying, I wasn’t too happy because it was raining,” reported the World Cup leader. Rain, poor visibility and a lack of grip made life difficult for all drivers, but to his own surprise the Briton felt “quite comfortable from the first lap”. The result: first place ahead of World Championship pursuer Max Verstappen, who was 0.323 seconds slower in the Red Bull and will also start from the front row. Norris is 49 points ahead of the defending champion, 24 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. He didn’t get along as well as Norris and ended up in fifth place. Fourth on the starting grid is last year’s winner George Russell in the Mercedes, third place went to Carlos Sainz. The Williams driver was still threatened with a penalty because of a situation in the confusing first qualifying section. “It felt like it was on ice.” Even when the rain stopped and the track became drier, at least on the ideal line, the challenge in the casino metropolis was still great. Norris needed luck and skill on his fastest lap when he intercepted his car in a chicane and saved it from hitting the barrier. “It was stressful as hell. I didn’t know that no one would get another lap home after me,” said Norris. “It was good enough. Good enough for P1. Not the nicest conditions, but at least it stopped raining.”More on the topicVerstappen became clearer: “It was very slippery on the track, it felt like it was on ice. I love driving in the wet, but that was a bit too much. I was surprised that there weren’t more incidents, everyone must have behaved really well,” said the Dutchman.For the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, it was Hopes for a good starting position were dashed early on: almost four seconds behind the leaders, the Ferrari driver set the worst time of all drivers in the first section. Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes and Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda also had great difficulties with the conditions and were no longer there in the second part of the qualification. Nico Hülkenberg in the Sauber narrowly missed the final section and finished eleventh. Despite the circumstances, only Alex Albon in the Williams and Oliver Bearman in the Haas lost control of their racing cars during the rainy opening phase, which sustained damage. “That was terrible, I’m surprised more didn’t happen,” said McLaren managing director Zak Brown. Fortunately, the drivers showed “what outstanding drivers they are.”
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