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F1 live updates from the Las Vegas Strip Circuit with Norris on top and title rival Oscar Piastri in fifth
Kieran JacksonFormula 1 CorrespondentSunday 23 November 2025 03:36 GMTComments
CloseLando Norris reveals mentality ahead of final three F1 races of 2025 seasonLando Norris ticked off another box in his bid to win the F1 world championship by mastering a wet qualifying session to secure pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
In treacherous conditions on the Strip, Norris saw off Max Verstappen by 0.323 seconds, while Oscar Piastri – Norris’ closest title challenger – could manage only fifth.
Carlos Sainz took third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare debut season for Ferrari took a catastrophic twist after he qualified 20th and last.
Norris leads McLaren team-mate Piastri by 24 points and Verstappen by 49, with 83 points to play for across the concluding three rounds. He will start Saturday’s showbiz race in Nevada in the best position to extend his title advantage, with a view to potentially being crowned champion of the world as early as next weekend in Qatar.
Follow live coverage of the Las Vegas GP with The Independent
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F1 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- The Las Vegas GP starts at 4am (GMT) on Sunday morning
- Lando Norris starts on pole; Verstappen 2nd; Sainz 3rd
- Lewis Hamilton starts dead-last after a disastrous qualifying session
- Norris can take a giant step towards F1 world title
- READ: The cold truth behind Ferrari’s F1 struggles
Jenson Button on Oscar Piastri's race:
“If he has a race where he finishes fourth or fifth, it's done. It has to happen now.
“He has to fight his way to the front, as Lando has done to him since Zandvoort.”
He’s right - now or never for Oscar, really.
Oscar Piastri (AP)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:36Las Vegas Grand Prix - odds!
Las Vegas Grand Prix Winner:
- Lando Norris - 19/20
- Max Verstappen - 31/20
- George Russell - 8/1
- Oscar Piastri - 25/1
- Carlos Sainz - 50/1
- Charles Leclerc - 80/1
- Kimi Antonelli - 150/1
- Fernando Alonso - 150/1
- Isack Hadjar - 150/1
- Lewis Hamilton - 150/1
- Liam Lawson - 150/1
Odds provided by Grosvenor Sport
Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:33Norris and Piastri
It’s potentially a title-deciding race, this.
If the positions stay as they are, Norris would take another 15-point bounce and move up to a 39-point lead.
Piastri has to do something special today.
(Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:30Max Verstappen on qualifying second:
Asked if he was surprised at just how much faster Norris was, Verstappen replied: “No, I mean why would it surprise me? Some people say that, but for me it’s never really been a big concern.
“I mean they have been quick on almost every track, and especially in the wet on inters they have been super strong the whole season. So for me then there’s no surprise that they are suddenly up there.
“But that’s also, at the end of the day, not my concern. I can only control what I can with my car, and that’s what we focus on,”
Max Verstappen (left) qualified second to Lando Norris (centre) (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:27Jenson Button pins blame on Lewis Hamilton for F1 qualifying error: ‘He’s lost focus’
Sky F1’s Bernie Collins revealed, having listened to radio messages, that the Ferrari pit wall did tell Hamilton to continue “pushing”, but Hamilton lifted off the accelerator.
Asked whether he could defend Hamilton for the error, fellow Sky F1 pundit and 2009 world champion Button replied: “No – it’s a tricky one. He’s not the first one to probably make this mistake, but the timing line is a different line to the gantry.
“You should know that because the time comes up on your dash. We all get told what our lap times are when you cross that line.”
“I guess he should know every regulation – it’s really tricky as a driver if you see a red light flash up above you, you think it's over. But the timing line is obviously before that.
“When it’s that tricky out there, so much going on… he’s lost focus on what is correct for starting the next lap.”
(Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:23Why Sky F1’s Martin Brundle will not conduct Las Vegas GP grid walk
Martin Brundle will not conduct the grid walk for Sky Sports F1 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend.
The Sky F1 broadcaster, who has led his famous grid walk at the first two Vegas races, is not present in Sin City this weekend, with Jenson Button instead acting as co-commentator alongside David Croft.
Brundle is contracted to work 16 of the 24 F1 races for Sky per season, with the veteran broadcaster missing Vegas this weekend. He is set to return for the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
It is unclear whether 2009 F1 world champion Button, who blamed Lewis Hamilton for the late qualifying error which saw the Briton qualify dead-last, will lead the grid walk in Brundle’s absence. Other Sky Sports pundits such as Bernie Collins, Anthony Davidson and Rachel Brookes could also take Brundle’s place.
Jenson Button (left) (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:20What is the full starting grid in Vegas?
1. Lando Norris - McLaren
2. Max Verstappen - Red Bull
3. Carlos Sainz - Williams
4. George Russell - Mercedes
5. Oscar Piastri - McLaren
6. Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls
7. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
8. Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls
9. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
10. Pierre Gasly - Alpine
11. Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber
12. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin
13. Esteban Ocon - Haas
14. Ollie Bearman - Haas
15. Franco Colapinto - Alpine
16. Alex Albon - Williams
17. Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes
18. Gabriel Bortoleto - Sauber
19. Yuki Tsunoda - Red Bull
20. Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari
Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 03:00Max Verstappen on qualifying second:
Asked if he was surprised at just how much faster Norris was, Verstappen replied: “No, I mean why would it surprise me? Some people say that, but for me it’s never really been a big concern.
“I mean they have been quick on almost every track, and especially in the wet on inters they have been super strong the whole season. So for me then there’s no surprise that they are suddenly up there.
“But that’s also, at the end of the day, not my concern. I can only control what I can with my car, and that’s what we focus on.”
Max Verstappen (right) (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 02:45Lando Norris after 'stressful as hell' qualifying
“It was stressful as hell,” said Norris. “It is so slippery out there that as soon as you hit the kerb you snap the car but it was good enough for P1.
“I had a nap before qualifying, and I was expecting it to be dry and I woke up and saw it was wet.
“I thought: ‘Oh crap this is not going to well’. It is so easy to crash when it is like this so it is rewarding to be on pole.
“The pace has been good all weekend. I didn’t expect to be as quick as I was in the wet. It is going to be an interesting race with Max up there. Hopefully we can have a good race.”
Lando Norris (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 02:30F1 driver standings heading into Vegas:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 390 points
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 366 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 341 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 276 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 214 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 148 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 122 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 73 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 43 points
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 43 points
11. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 40 points
12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 40 points
13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 38 points
14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 36 points
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points
16. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 30 points
17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 28 points
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 22 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 19 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
Kieran Jackson23 November 2025 02:00Newer1 / 4OlderMore about
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