Las Vegas GP: Lando Norris expects Max Verstappen race-long battle as big championship opportunity looms | F1 News

Lando Norris says he will still take risks in his expected battle against Max Verstappen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite a big opportunity to be on the verge of his first F1 world title.

Norris made it a hat-trick of pole positions after a last-gasp effort to steal top spot from Verstappen in wet conditions, with closest championship challenger and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri only fifth.

The British driver is 24 points ahead of Piastri and 49 points in front of Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship with just three races and one Sprint remaining.

Victory for Norris on Sunday would put him at least 31 points clear of his rivals, thus having a realistic chance of securing the title at next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

But, he is wary of the threat Verstappen poses as the Red Bull driver has little to lose, particularly at the start and the short run to Turn One.

“Max has been quick. I wouldn’t expect anything less than. You don’t know what he’s capable of,” said Norris.

“I expect to battle through the whole race. At the same time, I’m here to win. I’m not here to not take risks. I still want to go out and win tomorrow, so I’ll be making sure I can do everything that I can.

“One step at a time still – get a good start, good opening lap and go from there.”

Prior to Saturday, neither Norris or Piastri had qualified in the top five in Las Vegas as McLaren have generally struggled in cold conditions and slower speed corners.

Norris says expectations were “pretty low” coming into the weekend but the car has improved everywhere compared to last year, where he started and finished in sixth.

“We were still quick on Friday, even in final practice when it was dry. Our confidence has gone up, but it’s a long race,” he continued.

“There will still be issues that we struggle with that we don’t know if they will be better tomorrow. We will prepare. We will prepare to expect whatever situation we are in. We want to win tomorrow. That’s the goal but it won’t be an easy one.”

Can Verstappen, Piastri stay in title fight?

If Norris outscores Verstappen by at least nine points, the reigning world champion’s title defence will officially be over as only 58 points are up for grabs over the Qatar and Abu Dhabi weekends.

Verstappen had remarkable race pace last time out in Sao Paulo after he stormed through the field from the pit lane to third as Red Bull finally figured out how to extract performance from the car in Brazil.

But Interlagos is a very different track to Las Vegas and Verstappen revealed Red Bull made changes to his car after Friday’s practice, which will impact how he fares over a race stint against Norris.

“We didn’t really do any proper long running. In FP1 I did a little bit, which was not entirely to my liking,” he said.

“So I hope with the changes we’ve made since then that it will be a little bit better. But I’m not expecting it to be amazing. I hope we have a chance to do well.”

Piastri will need something spectacular to join the fight for the win after another disappointing qualifying result, which will further dent his championship hopes.

The Australian has been beaten by Norris in the last six races, but even a podium on Sunday will not help him if his team-mate wins.

Piastri told Sky Sports F1: “I think we’ve got a good car underneath us. It seems to be working well in all kinds of conditions.

“I think we can have a strong race and hopefully make up some spots.”

Will Russell or Sainz be a factor for title protagonists?

Last year’s Las Vegas winner George Russell suffered a power steering issue in Q3 which denied him a chance of challenging Norris for pole.

Mercedes were quick through all the practice sessions and if they fare better with the expected tyre graining that will play a role in the race, Russell will be up there with Verstappen and Norris.

“We have a chance. We will be in the fight. I don’t think there will be a big pace difference between the three teams at the front,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“It’s hard to say who will be the quickest but I would be surprised if the spread is more than a tenth of a second between the three teams.

“That makes for an exciting race. Sometimes being at the back to start with, you can do something slightly different with strategy, so it will be OK.”

Russell will need to first overtake Carlos Sainz, who continues to impress in the second half of this season and is targeting his second podium of 2025 following a third place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“For me, it’s more about trying to hold on to that P3 if I can, given that there will be very fast cars coming behind with the Mercedes, the other McLaren, Ferraris that were strong in the dry,” said Sainz.

“I’m gonna give it my best shot. I mean, you saw me in Baku or in Austin-when I’m up there fighting for the podium, I just try not to make mistakes and see if I can make myself as wide as possible and see if we can bring home a stronger than expected result. And I’ll be pushing to make it happen.”

Sky Sports F1’s Las Vegas GP schedule

Sunday November 23
12.15am: F1 Academy Race Two
2.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up*
4am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX*
6am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction*
7am: Ted’s Notebook*

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime