After leading the way in FP2, Lando Norris is in position to extend his lead even further in the 2025 drivers’ championship during the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver arrived in Nevada with a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen sits 49 points back. That gap gives Norris a real shot at knocking Verstappen out of contention this weekend.
If he finishes Sunday’s race at least 58 points clear of the Dutch star, the title chase would come down to him and Piastri alone heading into the final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Even if Verstappen were to sweep all three remaining races, he would still lose on tiebreakers.
Helmut Marko admits to surprise after Lando Norris tops Las Vegas Grand Prix FP2
Friday’s second practice was broken up by two red flags, making it difficult to get a clear sense of the order. Several drivers did not manage a representative lap on the soft Pirelli tyres, while Norris did get one in to lead the session.
The Briton put down a 1:33.602 early in the session before the stoppages began, finishing more than half a second ahead of Verstappen, who ended up ninth and almost nine-tenths clear of Piastri.
Even with McLaren downplaying their chances going into the weekend, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said he was caught off guard by Norris’ time at this stage, despite pointing out that some teams may not have shown their true pace yet.
“We first have to analyse who has already revved the engine more and how much fuel the others have been using, especially since Piastri was so much slower than Norris. We’ll only really see tomorrow,” the Austrian told Motorsport.
Marko expressed surprise at Norris’ time, especially considering McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had downplayed the team’s prospects for the Las Vegas GP beforehand.
“Exactly. I’m surprised by Norris’ time. We still have to wait and see what engine settings they ran, and exactly how many kilos he had in the tank,” the 82-year-old stated.
Andrea Stella comments on McLaren’s track record at the Las Vegas GP
Norris reclaimed the top spot in the championship with a dominant win in Mexico, and followed that up by sweeping both the Sprint and Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, stretching his lead even further.
Still, Stella was not quick to expect another win this week. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit has not been a friendly venue for McLaren in the past, with cool night conditions often exposing some of their weaknesses.
Tyre graining was a major issue for Norris and Piastri during last year’s race, where they finished sixth and seventh. Norris trailed winner George Russell by 43 seconds, while Piastri was over 51 seconds behind. They also struggled with rear wing setup problems throughout the weekend.
“Vegas last year was one of the most difficult races. We had difficulties with the behaviour of the tyres in qualifying, because we were not fast, and [the] behaviour of the tyres in the race, because we had a lot of graining.
“We also had some aerodynamic issues when we tried to offload the rear wing. We saw that we were losing too much efficiency, and we also had a bit of issues with the set-up of the car in a way trying to compensate for this graining and some of the understeer.”
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