REPORT: A Soaking Qualifying in Vegas

The rain fell during qualifying for the 2025 Las Vegas GP and split our fortunes

Published

22 NOV 2025

Est. reading time

5 min

Wet weather hit the Las Vegas Strip Circuit to cause a tyre gamble in the city famed for playing the odds, leaving Atlassian Williams Racing with mixed fortunes in qualifying.

Carlos Sainz reached Q3 and qualified in P3 for the race, but Alex Albon left the session in Q1 after tapping the wall on his final push lap, ending his Saturday in P16.

That marks Carlos' second-best qualifying session for the team after his P2 in Azerbaijan two months ago.

The qualifying session started with rain falling onto the track and both our drivers trying Pirelli's green-walled Intermediate tyre, along with most drivers. However, the low temperatures and slippery track soon had all cars using the extreme wets.

Carlos navigated Q1 well, topping the timesheets at multiple points, and eventually making it to Q2 in P12 after setting a 1:54.873, but he was unable to set a final push.

More session-topping moments followed in qualifying's second section, as our No.55 showcased his raw speed, taking a 1:51.144 as the track dried – good enough for P3 in Q2.

Qualifying's final 12 minutes saw a switch to Inters for the full field as the rain stopped and the surface dried out.

Carlos went straight to work, setting purple sectors to reach P1 in the opening minutes and staying in the top two as others completed their laps.

A 1:48.296 had Carlos into provisional pole for some moments, before Max Verstappen and then Lando Norris demoted him to P3.

For Alex, his day started well in FP3, with drying conditions assisting him to a P3 finish by the end of the final 60 minutes of practice.

That speed continued into Q1, with both our cars sitting in P1 and P2 at one point in the session after switching to the full wet tyres, and Alex setting a 1:56.220.

Unfortunately a snap at Turn 12 had Alex make a correction that ended with his front-right wheel in the wall, breaking his suspension, and eliminating him from Saturday's running.

Nonetheless, the FW47 looked fast in the hands of both drivers, and we'll be looking for another points-scoring race tomorrow, no matter the conditions.

Huge cheers from the Las Vegas crowd welcomed Carlos for his post-session interview with James Hinchcliffe, where our Spaniard said:

"I'm always optimistic. I always dream and I always try to think about myself doing well.

"This track maybe suited our car in the dry. In the wet in FP3, we didn't look very promising, but we did a few changes to the car that I think helped in the wet.

"And that allowed me to – from the first lap of Q1, every time I was finishing the lap, I was P1, P1, P1.

"On the extreme wet, I was really, really quick. On Inters, I knew the others, maybe, would catch up a bit, but, yeah, happy with P3."

"Very happy after one of the trickiest qualifying’s of the year," said Carlos, after reuniting with the team following his media duties.

"From my first lap today, I’ve felt at home with the car. Every time I was closing in on my lap we were at the top of the field and I was enjoying myself out there in these conditions.

"Despite opening my last attempt a bit early, I knew I had a shot at pole and for a moment I thought I had it! But two very quick cars behind me were able to improve and edge us out.

"Still, P3 is an amazing result for the team and we have to feel proud of the job done. Our target for tomorrow will be to remain in position, whilst being conscious we have some very quick cars behind us and it’s easy to overtake here.

"We’ll make ourselves as wide as possible and give it our all. Vamos!"

Alex summarised his Friday by saying, "A frustrating qualifying result as we have been quick all weekend.

"The conditions were tricky out there and I was experiencing some random aquaplaning across different laps.

"The laps I was able to do in clean air I was happy with, but unfortunately, we never really got a clean lap without a yellow flag.

"There was a lot going on through the last few corners with various flags and to get to the line on time, and I had a snap and we ultimately got caught out.

"It is frustrating as we should’ve been in Q3 today as well. Hopefully it is dry tomorrow, but I’m confident that we have a good car and can fight back in the race."

James Vowles, Atlassian Williams Racing's Team Principal, shared his thoughts:

"What a fantastic qualifying from Carlos – really, really impressive in quite difficult conditions. And yet it wasn't just one lap, he was able to put the car consistently in the top three throughout most of the sessions.

"Great work by the team, getting the car working across a range of slick, intermediate and extreme wet tyres this weekend and it bodes well for the race tomorrow whatever conditions come our way.

"With Alex, it's bitterly disappointing because he has been quick all weekend. He made a small mistake but small mistakes get punished in Vegas.

"The incident could have been prevented with improved communications, and information from the team – we win and lose as a team and will come back stronger with Alex tomorrow.

"Looking forward to tomorrow’s race, clearly we can’t predict whether it’s going to rain or not but given our performance so far we look competitive across a range of conditions – I’m just looking forward to racing."

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