Top Drivers Breach the Waterline in Rain-Soaked Vegas Qualifying
In what may go down as the most exciting qualifying session of the 2025 season, drivers fought their way through a rainy Las Vegas Strip and held their own on a slick street circuit. The rain seemed to bring out the best of some fan favorite racers, while others succumbed to the slippery conditions and found themselves into a wall or simply too far behind. It’s a career lowlight for the likes of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and rookie prodigy Kimi Antonelli, neither of whom was able to move past Q1, but others are leaving with heads high. McLaren, Red Bull, and Williams Racing are all looking forward to five red lights in Vegas tonight.
Conditions during Qualifying looked grim from the start, as Q1 started and ended under light rain. With visibility already impaired from the late start time and the circuit nearly submerged, drivers emerged from the pit lane in full wet tires, with the exception of the two Ferraris. Charles LeClerc struggled to keep his car under control, and Hamilton couldn’t find an optimal pace; both soon switched to full wets as they attempted to make up for lost time. LeClerc managed to stay in through Q3, but Hamilton will start in last place with the worst track time of the session. Williams driver Alex Albon also suffered under the wet conditions, showing promising pace through his early laps but taking significant damage to his front wing and wheel as he slipped into a wall on the final section. Too damaged to continue, he retired in Q1 and is expected to begin the race from 16th position. Rookie Haas driver Ollie Bearman nearly met the same fate in Q2 when his brakes locked up on a difficult turn and found himself face-first in the barriers. Luckily, the damage was minimal, and he continued, only to be out-qualified by his teammate Esteban Occon and ended in 14th position.
The final 20 seconds of Q3 were tense and electric, as ideal a finisher as one can expect in the pinnacle of motorsports. Three drivers upended pole position in short order, each replacing the last by the smallest of margins. First, and perhaps the most astonishing, was Carlos Sainz, whose comeback season looks better with every race. Having taken a monumental podium for Williams in Azerbaijan earlier this year, he looks to repeat the achievement with a third-place start. His time was quickly beaten by the four-time world champion Max Verstappen, proving once again what he can do in tough conditions. Then, with four zeros on the clock, championship leader Lando Norris left onlookers stunned as he took his final lap just one third of a second faster than his championship rival. Crossing the finish line under a yellow flag squashed any hopes of another driver coming out ahead, leaving Norris comfortable in pole position for the Grand Prix.
