Norris Secures Lasโ Vegasโค Grand Prix Pole, Tightens Grip onโ Championship Lead
las โVegas, Nevada – November 23, 2024 โ – Lando Norris of McLaren seized pole positionโ for โthe Las Vegas Grand Prix today, bolstering his championship lead as the Formulaโ 1 season nearsโฃ its โconclusion. The Briton edged out โreigning champion Max Verstappen โฃin a challenging qualifying session, while McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri qualified in fifth.
Norris’s performance on the trickyโค Las Vegas Street Circuit puts him โ24 points โขahead of Piastri with a maximum of 83 points still available. He bested Verstappen by a โcritically important margin, completingโค a lap โฃnearly โa second faster than his rival. Piastri’sโค qualifying run was hampered by a yellow flag during a crucial lap.
Behind โฃthe front two, Georgeโข Russell (Mercedes), last year’s โคLas โขVegas winner, secured fourthโข place, followed by a surprising performance from Carlos โขSainz (Williams) in third. โNew Zealander Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) took โsixth, โขahead ofโฃ aston Martin’sโค Fernandoโ Alonso โand Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
Further down โฃthe grid, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) qualified โninth, ahead ofโค Pierreโค Gasly โฃ(Alpine).Fellow Frenchman Esteban โOcon (Haas) will start 13th, justโ ahead of teammateโข Oliver Bearman.
The qualifying session proved โparticularly โdifficult for seven-time world champion โขLewis โขHamilton (Ferrari). The Briton struggled with the conditions and failed to progress beyond Q1, starting the race from 20th andโฃ last position. Hamilton expressed frustration over the radio, stating he “couldn’t get the tires upโฃ to temperature.” โ
The Las Vegas Grand โPrix โpromises aโ thrilling race as Norris aims to capitalize on hisโ pole position and extend โhis championship advantage, while Piastri looks to recover ground in hisโข pursuitโข of โthe title.