Charles Leclerc is one of only three drivers with three straight poles in the F1 ground-effect era. Lando Norris matches Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen as the only drivers in the ground-effect era with at least three consecutive pole position.

The British driver has completed a special qualifying hat-trick, a feat that in the last four seasons had only been achieved by his two main rivals.

The third jewel

In the rain of Las Vegas, on a track made slippery and extremely tricky by the weather conditions, Lando Norris secured a special pole position – one that may even prove decisive in the outcome of the championship – by beating a rain specialist like Max Verstappen. The pole position taken by the McLaren driver is relevant not only in terms of the race and the title fight, but also from a statistical point of view. This is in fact the third consecutive race in which Norris has taken pole; the World Championship leader is the first to achieve such a streak in 2025, but above all he becomes only the third driver to do so with this generation of ground-effect cars introduced in 2022.

Since 2022 only Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen better than Lando

The first to take at least three poles in a row – reaching as many as four consecutively – was Charles Leclerc during his fantastic start to the 2022 season. That year the Monegasque Ferrari driver set the fastest time in six of the first eight qualifying sessions, including a run from Miami to Baku, going through Barcelona and Monaco. However, incredibly, Charles Leclerc did not win any of those four races, between strategic mistakes by the team and reliability problems with the car.

In 2023 and 2024 it was Max Verstappen who produced several spectacular series of consecutive pole positions: five in a row came during his remarkable 2023, between Monaco and Silverstone, accompanied on that occasion by just as many victories. The Dutchman did even better at the start of last year’s championship, taking the fastest time in the first seven qualifying sessions of the season.

Now this legacy has been taken up by Lando Norris. The British driver converted the first two poles of this streak – in Mexico and Brazil – into victories, and he hopes to do the same tomorrow in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Before the end of the season he will also have two more opportunities – in Qatar and Abu Dhabi – to further increase his tally.