Max Verstappen took second place in qualifying for the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, while his Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda ended up back in 19th as rain played a major role in Sin City.
The two Red Bull drivers had very different results in Vegas. McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed pole position with a lap of 1:47.934, just edging out Verstappen’s provisional pole time of 1:48.257.
Norris might have gone even quicker around the Las Vegas Strip Circuit if he hadn’t suffered a snap of oversteer coming out of Turn 16. Still, it marked his third consecutive pole and seventh overall this season, making him the first driver to achieve three in a row in 2025.
Verstappen’s second-place finish also extends his lead over Tsunoda to 20-0 in their qualifying head-to-head this season. Tsunoda only managed a best lap of 1:56.798 during Q1, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton the only driver behind him on the timesheets.
Yuki Tsunoda described the track conditions in Las Vegas GP qualifying as ‘strange’
Verstappen ended Q1 just behind Mercedes driver George Russell, 0.314s off with times of 1:53.144 and 1:53.458. The opening stage of qualifying featured the toughest conditions, with heavy rain soaking Las Vegas and forcing drivers onto full wet Pirelli tyres.
The opening session saw several drivers struggling, including Williams’ Alex Albon crashing out, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc running off-track, and McLaren’s Norris reporting “I can’t keep it on the track” after aquaplaning. Tsunoda also described the grip levels as unusual.
Tsunoda told BBC Sport: “It was very tricky but, at the same time, I don’t know why but I just struggled with the grip overall. It was very strange, like ice. I don’t know what has happened specifically, but clearly something isn’t working.”
Max Verstappen echoes Yuki Tsunoda by likening the Las Vegas GP conditions to ‘driving on ice’
Much like his Red Bull teammate, Verstappen described the Q1 conditions in Las Vegas as feeling like “driving on ice.” While he’s built a reputation for excelling in challenging weather, even he found it tough to set a clean lap.
He said after qualifying: “It was really, really slippery out there.” He continued: “It is already slippery in the dry but, in the wet, it’s not fun I can tell you that.“I like to drive in the wet but this felt more like driving on ice so it took a long time to get the tyres to work.”“But overall I think I’m happy with my lap and P2 is not bad at all”
The chicane through Turns 14–16 was especially tough for drivers during Q1 of the Las Vegas GP even though it is one of the slowest parts of the circuit.
Bearing this in mind there are now further questions about whether Formula One should be held at this venue given there have been numerous complaints about safety.
Oliver Bearman wasn’t happy with how fast Formula One cars were moving around Sin City and even called it dangerous.
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