We now close the live blog. Verstappen goes into tomorrow’s race with fifth starting position and a good feeling. Norris, the only one who can keep him from winning his fourth world title tomorrow, will then pull away one place behind him.
The race starts tomorrow at 7 a.m. and we will be there with a new blog. You can listen to a live report on NPO Radio 1.
Verstappen is satisfied with room for Norris
Max Verstappen is happy with his starting position for tomorrow’s race. He starts fifth, with his last pursuer in the title race one place behind him.
“The most important thing for me is that we are in front of McLaren, that’s what I had to look at now,” Verstappen said on Viaplay. “We’ll see. I have no idea how good we are in the long runs, as we’ve changed so much in between. Hopefully the tires stay intact.”
Many different winners
If George Russell can redeem his pole position tomorrow, he will be the sixth driver to win in six races. The last five Grands Prix have been won by Oscar Piastri (Azerbaijan), Lando Norris (Singapore), Charles Leclerc (USA), Carlos Sainz (Mexico) and Max Verstappen (Brazil).
The last time that six different drivers won a GP in succession was from April to June 2012, when Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were among the six.
Qualifying Las Vegas | Verstappen in P5, ahead of Norris
Verstappen gives himself a good starting position for tomorrow. He starts in P5, one spot ahead of Norris. Verstappen can make a serious bid for his fourth world title.
Russell was very fast and took pole position. The top ten:
1. Russell
2. Sainz
3. Gasly
4. Leclerc
5. Verstappen
6. Norris
7. Tsunoda
8. Plates
9. Hulkenberg
10. Hamilton
Qualifying Las Vegas | Verstappen now with the third fastest time
After the first fast laps, Verstappen has the third fastest time, behind Russell and Sainz. But a lot will probably happen in the last five minutes.
The track heats up and becomes faster and faster.
Qualifying Las Vegas | Q3 is underway!
The decisions are going to be made. The drivers will warm up the tires and go for an ultimate lap in the final phase of the session.
Verstappen came through the first two sessions smoothly and was aiming for pole. However, Mercedes seems to be in an even better position.
Qualifying Las Vegas | Pérez anyway…
Oh, Sergio Pérez…The Mexican is out again. He sets the sixteenth fastest time, while his teammate Verstappen set the third fastest time. The Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Russell were the fastest.
In addition to Pérez, Albon, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll have also dropped out.
Qualifying Las Vegas | Good lap Verstappen
Look, this looks good. Verstappen has the fastest time with 1.33.299.
Stroll crashed in training and was the last to leave the track. His car works again.
Fifth fastest time for Verstappen in FP3
In the third and final training, Verstappen set the fifth fastest time last night. Yet, just like yesterday, he continued to struggle with his car.
“I can’t drive it, I’m going to crash,” Verstappen said at the start of training. After switching to soft tires he said things went “many times better”. He finished with 1.34.137.
George Russell was the fastest with 1.33.570, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz. Lando Norris was also faster than Verstappen with 1.34.008.
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez was stuck in the thirteenth fastest time. He was almost a second and a half slower than Russell. The third training session was stopped prematurely after Lance Stroll stopped his Aston Martin on the Strip in Las Vegas.
What does a dollar yield on Verstappen, Norris or Hamilton?
The betting offices have also seen that Max Verstappen did not complete any promising training sessions yesterday. If you received 2.5 dollars back for each victory prior to the first free practice, that is now 4.5 dollars. In other words: a gamble has become more valuable.
Charles Leclerc now has the lowest odds, if the Monegasque wins you get 2.5 times your stake back. A dollar on a Lando Norris win yields $2.75.
Mercedes’ successful training has ensured that you get significantly less in return for betting on George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
For a $1 bet on pole for Hamilton, you could win back $22 for the weekend. That profit has been reduced to 4 dollars. George Russell dropped from 14 to 5 dollars.
Verstappen struggled a lot during the first training sessions in cold Las Vegas: ‘No grip at all’
Max Verstappen struggled mightily in Las Vegas yesterday. In the United States, the Dutchman can become Formula 1 champion for the fourth time this weekend, but in the first two free practice sessions it was mainly a matter of finding his footing on the track.
“I have no grip at all,” the Dutchman said quite quickly in the second training session, in which he clocked the 17th fastest time (1.35.834). That turned out to be the case, because Verstappen immediately shot from the cool and smooth track onto one of the run-off lanes during a slightly faster lap.
The lack of grip turned out to be a problem not only for the three-time world champion. Kevin Magnussen and Hamilton also took off in the first laps. The drivers were spared major problems.
And then Red Bull also has an unsuitable rear wing on the car:
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