Formula One: Max Verstappen eyes fourth F1 title after beating McLaren in Las Vegas Qualifying

In a wild start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen moved a step closer to his fourth Formula One drivers’ championship, after beating his only remaining challenger in qualifying.

Max Verstappen has moved one step closer to a fourth Formula One drivers’ championship. Picture: AFP

Max Verstappen moved a massive step closer to securing his fourth Formula One drivers’ championship after out qualifying his only remaining challenger in a wild start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Verstappen only managed to qualify fifth in his Red Bull but significantly he was still one place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, his only mathematical threat for the title.

Leading by 62 points with three races to go, Verstappen will clinch the title at Sunday’s Grand Prix in Sin City unless Norris outscores him by at least three points to keep his fading chances alive.

George Russell took pole position for Mercedes after a sizzling lap of 1:32.312 around the famous Las Vegas Strip with Carlos Sainz 0.098 behind in a Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly was the biggest surprise, qualifying third quickest for Alpine, joining Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the second row of the grid.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri qualified eighth after being unable to get the best out of his McLaren on the tricky Las Vegas circuit, one of the newest races on the F1 calendar.

Max Verstappen is closing in a forth world title

Because the race and qualifying takes place on a long street circuit late at night – with the track illuminated by 12 million light bulbs – it has far less grip than permanent tracks.

The dust that blows in from the Nevada desert then makes the surface even more slippery, testing the drivers to stay on the road while pushing their cars to the maximum speed.

Russell almost came unstuck when he clipped the wall with his first flying lap in Q3 but returned to the track in the nick of time to snatch the fourth pole position of his career.

“I had a bit of a moment in my first run and we had to change the front wing so for a moment I didn’t think we were going to make the flag but I’m just so happy,” the Englishman said.

“Ultimately you’ve got to put it on the table sometimes and I felt confident in myself and I knew if I did a clean lap it would be enough to secure a front row so to get pole position is incredible. Ultimately, we’ve had a few good qualifying’s recently but we need to convert that into a win now.”

Australia’s Oscar Piastri qualified eighth for the Las Vegas Grand Prix

By qualifying both their cars in the top four, Ferrari have a great opportunity to close the 36-point gap on McLaren in the constructors’ championship with only the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds remaining.

“I think we need the win,” Sainz said. “It’s not like we can afford just to be in front of them.

“Qatar is not going to be a good track for us, we are going to be struggling there, so we need to win.“

Verstappen faced an added obstacle after his Red Bull team brought the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas, costing him precious fractions of seconds, but he was still able to put his car on the third row.

Mercedes' British driver George Russell will start from pole position.

“We really tried a lot of different things to see what was the right direction and I do think that what we did for qualifying was the right direction,” Verstappen said.

“It was still clearly not enough to fight for pole but I’m still quite happy. We’re still in front of McLaren which for me is a bit of a surprise for me.”

Norris said he would keep fighting for the title even though his chances are quickly evaporating.

“I’m not going to give up till the end even if the chances are extremely thin,” he said.

“I’m here to do the best in every race I can whether I’m fighting for a championship or not.“