Verstappen: No surprise to see Norris on pole

The four-time World Champion needs to make sure he doesn't get outscored by Norris by nine points or more in Las Vegas, or he will be mathematically out of Title-winning contention.

After looking like the fastest driver on track during the preceding Sao Paulo Grand Prix, many expected the Dutchman to challenge for pole position at the third round in the United States of 2025.

However, extremely wet conditions kept the pecking order unpredictable right until the very end. Verstappen put in a respectable time of a 1:48.257 in treacherous conditions, but this was comfortably beaten by Norris who put in a blistering 1:47.934 lap time to claim pole.

At the end of the day, Verstappen was unsurprised to be more than three tenths down on the eventual polesitter.

When asked if he was surprised at just how much faster Norris was over a single lap than himself, Verstappen's response was blunt.

He said: "No, I mean why would it surprise me? Some people say that, but for me it’s never really been a big concern.

"I mean they have been quick on almost every track, and especially in the wet on inters they have been super strong the whole season. So for me then there’s no surprise that they are suddenly up there.

"But that’s also, at the end of the day, not my concern. I can only control what I can with my car, and that’s what we focus on," stated the defending World Champion.

Verstappen continued by saying that he was delighted to qualify on the front row of the grid, and thinks he did well considering just how tricky the conditions were on the Las Vegas street circuit.

He added: "I think we did well considering. It’s always tricky out there, making mistakes, getting the timing right in Q1, Q2 consecutive laps, stuff like that.

"So we did well. But unfortunately in Q3 on the inters, which has been a struggle for us already the whole season, to be quick on them, it was the same.

"It just took too long to have a really strong lap at the end. To be second is still a very good result for us," concluded the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen will start alongside Norris at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which commences Sunday 23 November at 04:00 GMT (Saturday 22 November at 20:00 local time).