Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen said he was surprised to stay ahead of title challenger Lando Norris after qualifying fifth for the Las Vegas Grand Prix despite a rear wing disadvantage.

Verstappen’s Red Bull was slower on the Las Vegas straights than its rivals, with the team explaining that they had not designed a special low-downforce rear wing for cost reasons.

The Dutchman can win his fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship on Saturday if he beats McLaren’s Norris, who finished sixth in qualifying.

“We tried to do the best we could,” Verstappen said after qualifying, where Mercedes driver George Russell took pole.

“We worked well together. We tried a lot of different things to see what the right direction was… still clearly not enough to fight for pole. I’m still quite happy.

“We’re still ahead of McLaren, which is a bit of a surprise for me, but I’m quite happy with how qualifying went and my laps.”

Verstappen, 62 points ahead of Norris and 60 still to win after Las Vegas, played down expectations that he would clinch the title on Saturday at the race he won in the first iteration last year.

“Right now it’s hard to say,” he said. “We were both not great in the long run, we were both (deteriorated) on the tires compared to other teams.

“But many teams have made changes, so tomorrow only time will tell how we will perform.”

Norris said Mercedes and Ferrari both showed the superiority of their cars in Las Vegas and he was not comfortable pushing too hard.

“If you’re trying to find lap times but not go over the limit, it’s a difficult balance,” he said. “So just too much of a challenge for us and it showed.”

The Briton said beating Verstappen and extending the championship fight to Qatar was his focus.

“I will of course do everything I can. That’s why I’m here,” he said. “I’m not going to give up until the end, even if the chances are extremely small.

But I’m here to do the best in every race, whether I’m fighting for the championship or not.

“So I’m going out tomorrow, it’s a long race and a lot of things can happen. We’re fast on the straights so hopefully that can work in our favor.”