Hamilton fastest in Las Vegas Grand Prix practice, Verstappen struggles
Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time during the practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday, with McLaren's Lando Norris placing between the two Mercedes drivers, and George Russell rounding out a British trio at the top of the Formula 1 timesheets in the second session.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull, the reigning champion who secured victory in last year's race and is in contention for a fourth consecutive title on Saturday night, finished the day in 17th place, two seconds off the leading pace, having not utilized the soft tyre.
"The track was quite slippery today; we struggled to get the tyres to perform, particularly over a single lap, and our pace was significantly off," Verstappen remarked.
"Our main challenge is related to the tyres, as we lack grip, making it feel akin to driving on ice."
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion set to join Ferrari, had contemplated leaving Mercedes after the previous race in Sao Paulo, describing it as the worst performance of his car's history. However, he made a strong comeback in the Nevada desert.
The British driver led the first practice session with a time of 1:35.001 seconds, finishing 0.396 seconds ahead of Russell and 0.953 seconds faster than Norris in the cool, slippery conditions of the city streets.
In the late-night session, Hamilton clocked a lap time of 1:33.825, with Norris just 0.011 seconds behind and Russell 0.190 seconds off the pace. All times were achieved on the soft tyres, with drivers facing challenges in maintaining grip on the fast circuit.
"I felt very positive out there today," Hamilton stated. "This is the first practice day this year where we have shown consistent strength, and the car has felt competitive throughout.
"Even though we topped both sessions, it remains challenging to ascertain our exact position in the competitive hierarchy, as everyone is running different fuel loads and strategies. Our long-run pace did not appear as strong as our single-lap speed."
Carlos Sainz from Ferrari secured the fourth-fastest time, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth and Alpine's Pierre Gasly in sixth. McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Norris's Australian teammate, finished eighth, as the team engages in a closely contested battle with Ferrari for the constructors' championship.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen's Mexican teammate facing scrutiny, finished in 19th place during the second practice session.
"It was not a great day for us, and it appears to have been challenging for everyone else as well. We are not as competitive as we anticipated coming into the weekend," remarked Leclerc, who secured pole position last year.
The second practice session was interrupted by a red flag when Alex Albon's Williams came to a stop. The Thai driver had delayed his exit from the garage due to a fuel system issue, which ultimately resulted in the car's failure.
Valtteri Bottas received a five-place grid penalty for exceeding the allowable number of power unit components after beginning practice with a new energy store.
The initial practice session along the revamped Las Vegas Strip proved to be significantly more successful than the previous year, when the session was cut short after just eight minutes due to a serious incident involving Sainz's Ferrari and a loose drain cover.
Verstappen will clinch the championship again if he outperforms Norris on Saturday or if the McLaren driver fails to accumulate three points more than him.
SportsLigue