Max Verstappen wins verdict over Lando Norris ahead of Las Vegas GP qualifying

Max Verstappen has been backed to secure pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris.

Red Bull driver Verstappen and McLaren rival Norris finished at opposite ends of the timesheet at the end of final practice, with the Briton rock bottom due to what appeared to be an ERS issue with his MCL39 that forced him back to the garage at a time when the more representative qualifying sim laps were being posted.

Verstappen, meanwhile, looked sharp throughout the hour, finishing second quickest behind Mercedes' George Russell.

In our RacingNews365 poll as to who you felt would grab top spot on the grid for the race at the Las Vegas Street Circuit, four-time F1 champion Verstappen edged out Norris.

Verstappen nabbed 34.75% of the votes, with Norris netting 32.04%. With wet conditions expected at the start of qualifying due to rain falling since the end of FP3, the Dutchman will be the happier as Norris looked uneasy on a damp track at the start.

The duo, though, were comfortably ahead of any other driver. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc collected 12.77%, whilst just 6.97% of fans opted for McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Piastri goes into qualifying without a fast lap to his name after missing out in FP2 due to the red flags surrounding a faulty manhole cover, whilst a telemetry issue late in FP3 left him in 19th, above Norris.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who looked solid in final practice, collected 5.88%, whilst Russell, who won from pole position last year, and appears a major threat again, was supported by 5.03% of fans.