Lando Norris wants to prove he deserves the World Championship, which, with three races to go, sees him leading everyone with a comfortable points cushion (+24 over Piastri and +49 over Max). He takes pole in Las Vegas, snatching it at the last moment from Max Verstappen, with Norris only 5th, more than a second behind. It’s a jackpot not to be wasted in the race (at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning).

For the British McLaren driver, it’s the 16th pole of his career (7th this year, 1st in Las Vegas). He equals Felipe Massa and Stirling Moss, ranking 22nd of all time. He is the first Woking team driver to score three consecutive poles in 20 years—the last was Raikkonen in 2005.

If he is not intimidated by Max’s presence beside him at the start, Lando in Las Vegas could really make the decisive move… “It was stressful, insanely stressful on a track that was extremely slippery,” he said with a big smile. “In every corner in Q1 it felt like you were going to hit a wall, but fortunately, the conditions improved.”

“I like driving in the wet, but here it was like driving on ice,” said Max, who couldn’t make the difference in qualifying but still keeps a dream alive for the race. He knows well that he has to risk everything if he wants to reopen the door to the dream room.

The man of the day was an amazing Carlos Sainz, who brought the Williams to third place ahead of Russell, the most disappointed of the group, who in Q1 and Q2 (when he spun with the Full Wets) had been ahead of everyone.

Among the biggest disappointments on Saturday was Charles Leclerc, only 9th, almost two seconds off the pace. He was never able to find his rhythm, risking elimination in Q2. He would have preferred dry conditions, no doubt about it.

Unfortunately, as has often happened this year, Ferrari’s Saturday erased the good work done on Friday.

“We’ve had this problem for seven years. It’s always been one of my strengths in junior series, but when I arrived at Ferrari, I never found the right feeling in the rain. And it’s always like this. We try different things every time, but there’s nothing to be done. I have no explanation, but it’s starting to get a bit long… Every time it rains a little, we already know what to expect,” Leclerc commented.

Notable eliminations in Q1
In the rain, two stars immediately fell in Q1: Hamilton and Antonelli. For Lewis, it was a first: he had never been last in Q1 except for a few mechanical problems. This time he messed up with the lights, thinking he had taken the flag at the last second, while the team was telling him to push. The lights weren’t very clear, but someone with his experience shouldn’t make these mistakes. Hamilton left the garage with his head down.