Max Verstappen Blames “Slippery” Track After Losing Las Vegas GP Pole to Lando Norris

Max Verstappen revealed that the slippery track conditions at Las Vegas GP was the reason behind his failure to achieve Pole against Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen Blames “Slippery” Track After Losing Las Vegas GP Pole to Lando Norris

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

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Max Verstappen narrowly missed out on achieving a pole position start against Lando Norris at the Las Vegas GP. Norris had cast doubts about his chances to succeed at the third and final American race, and he still achieved the pole position. However, Verstappen, despite his recent performance resurgence, was only able to salvage a front-row start right behind the championship leader. Now, the four-time champion reveals the reasons behind his lost chance at pole.

Lando Norris had pointed out that he did not expect to emerge as a winning force in Las Vegas. The Briton doesn’t exactly have the best track record on the American street race. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has been in much better form in the previous outings on the track. However, this time around, Norris achieved the pole position with Verstappen starting in close second for the main race on Sunday.

Speaking on a failed shot for pole, Max Verstappen claimed that it was really slippery out on the track. To make matters worse, the Qualifying was run under damp track conditions and which caused even less grip for the drivers. Verstappen accepted that he liked driving in wet conditions, but the Las Vegas circuit felt more like driving on ice and hence caused him problems in achieving a pole position.

Really, really slippery out there, It’s already slippery in the dry, but in the wet, it’s not fun, I can tell you that. I like driving in the wet, this felt more like driving on ice, so it took a long time to get the tyres to work a little bit.

Max Verstappen said, as reported by RacingNews365.

Furthermore, Max Verstappen believed that on the extreme wet tires, he still had better grip and a better chance of fighting for a pole position. Regardless, the track continued to evolve and improve throughout the session, which caused uneven tire wear. Verstappen highlighted that he pushed much more in the final lap, but it was still nowhere near enough to achieve a pole position against Lando Norris in the end.

I do feel like maybe we’re a little bit more competitive on the extreme tyre. But the track is improving so you have to move on to the inter. I struggled a lot just to have any kind of grip. The final lap, of course, you risk a little bit more, but it was still by far not enough to fight for first.

Max Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen ‘excited’ for the Las Vegas GP despite failing to achieve Pole

Max Verstappen will surely be one of the drivers to watch closely at the Las Vegas GP as he starts in close second to Lando Norris. The Dutchman is delighted to atleast start in the vicinity of the championship leader so he can have a good shot at contending for the race win. Verstappen reckoned that to still be on the front row, all things considered, is a good starting point for the main race on Sunday.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Max Verstappen recalled the entire Qualifying session and pointed out that his final lap felt ‘alright’ as he maximized as much as possible. Though the reigning world champion accepted that it was difficult to get all the braking zones correctly, and still reach the limit on the tires. Regardless of the circumstances, Verstappen was excited for the Las Vegas GP and hoped for better grip on the inside line so he could make a daring move on Turn 1 itself.

But still to be on the front row, it’s good for us, The lap felt alright. It’s just super difficult out there to get all the braking zones right and be on the limit of the tyres as well, but we did it. I’m excited for tomorrow. I hope the inside is okay in terms of grip, but we’ll see.

Max Verstappen noted.

The 2025 season is nearing completion and will only have two races left after the Las Vegas GP. Max Verstappen is currently 49 points adrift of the championship lead, and it is nearly impossible to cover in such a short time. However, if Norris suffers from a DNF, the title battle might open up again for the 28-year-old.

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