George Russell will start Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix from pole position, while Max Verstappen took another step towards securing a fourth world championship by beating his only remaining title rival, Lando Norris.

Mercedes’ Russell beat Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by 0.098 seconds to the fastest time, with Pierre Gasly taking a surprise third on the grid for Alpine.

Gasly said afterwards: “It’s unbelievable, to be honest, we didn’t think we would be able to achieve a top three in qualifying. It was an incredible lap, especially on this track, when you’re flirting with the walls the whole lap and there’s a lot of adrenaline and excitement.

“I knew it was a good lap to get over the line, but when they came on the radio and told me I would be in third place tomorrow, it was just amazing and I’m really happy.”

Verstappen qualified fifth, behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in fourth place, but will start one place ahead of Norris, who only managed the sixth fastest time.

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Verstappen’s current championship lead of 62 points means Norris must beat Verstappen by three points in Las Vegas to keep the championship alive at the penultimate round of the season in Qatar.

The current situation in the championship means that if the two drivers start where they finish on Saturday, Verstappen will be crowned world champion for the fourth year in a row.

The qualifying result will also be worrying for McLaren’s constructors’ title hopes, with both Ferraris starting ahead of Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished eighth in Q3.

Ferrari trails McLaren in the standings by 36 points, but could erase much of that lead if Sainz and Leclerc can translate the team’s promising long-term pace into real pace in Sunday’s race.

Yuki Tsunoda took seventh place for RB, ahead of Piastri in eighth place and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in ninth.

Russell’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton will start 10th after making mistakes in both his Q3 laps.

His Mercedes had looked fast during practice in Las Vegas, making the result all the more painful for the seven-time world champion, who will leave the team for Ferrari at the end of the season.

Russell said afterwards of his performance: “It’s incredible to be on pole again, we’ve been so fast all weekend and I just knew going into the final Q3 lap will be the lap that counts, it doesn’t matter from what has happened before.

“I had a moment on my first run and we had to change the front wing, so I didn’t think we were going to make it to the flag for a while, but I’m just so happy. We have to do a deep dive to understand why it’s been so bad this weekend.” went quickly, because it is a real surprise.”

Esteban Ocon starts 11th for Alpine, ahead of Kevin Magnussen in 12th and Zhou Guanyu 13th for Sauber.

Williams driver Franco Colapinto hit the inside wall at Turn 16 at the end of Q2 and was shot into the barrier on the outside of the circuit. Although he walked away from the accident, his participation in the Grand Prix will be subject to medical checks ahead of Saturday’s race.

The car was severely damaged and will require extensive repairs. The accident comes just three weeks after Williams suffered millions of dollars in damages in three accidents involving his two cars at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Colapinto qualified 14th, ahead of RB’s Liam Lawson in 15th.

The accident comes just three weeks after Williams suffered millions of dollars in damage in three accidents involving his two cars at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Colapinto will start the race 14th, ahead of RB’s Liam Lawson in 15th.

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Under pressure, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was eliminated for the sixth time this season in the opening session of qualifying. He missed out on a place in Q2 by 0.068 seconds ahead of Lawson, who is strongly tipped to replace Perez at Red Bull if the Mexican’s poor form continues.

Fernando Alonso was 17th fastest at the end of Q1 after complaining about being caught by a late yellow flag on his last attempt in the first sector. Williams driver Alex Albon starts 18th, ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 19th.

Lance Stroll set the slowest time in qualifying, but completed just one flying lap as Aston Martin worked on his car during the first part of the session to replace the energy recovery system after it failed in final practice.