Full house: Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice Report
- Maham Mir
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written by Maham Mir
Formula One returns to Sin City for the final American race of the season, completing the trio of Miami and the Circuit of the Americas. As the second longest track on the calendar, consisting of two DRS zones, Las Vegas has certainly entertained in F1's previous visits to the street circuit.
With unprecedented speeds, and 79% of the lap taken at full-throttle, racing action is almost guaranteed. Three crucial practice sessions stand between the teams and the all-important qualifying session ahead of Saturday's race.
FP1: Leclerc dazzles under the lights
The threat of rain loomed over the opening practice sessions so all 10 teams were committed to consistent running to make the most of their available opportunities. With F1 Academy as the only feeder series also running this weekend, the drivers were dealing with dusty track conditions.
Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman found themselves exploring off-track early on into the session, getting up to speed with the low track temperatures. All the drivers in the early part of the session were focused on medium tyre runs in the beginning part of the session.
Pierre Gasly briefly went fastest during the session after claiming to have unlocked something in his Alpine last time out in Sao Paulo. Alpine currently sit last in the World Constructor’s Championship so a good weekend could mean an important haul of points.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen continued to trade off fastest lap times in the early part of the session. Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda briefly ahead of the reigning world champion, keeping within a few tenths of his teammate throughout the session.
Championship leader Lando Norris didn’t feature at the top of the time sheets at any point during the first practice session. Instead, he reported hitting the wall however he did not carry any lasting damage as a result.
At the halfway mark of the session, Verstappen led with a 1:35.776 on medium tyres ahead of Leclerc with last year’s Grand Prix winner George Russell in P3.
The Ferraris, after an unfortunate showing last time out in Sao Paulo, enjoyed better running in this first hour in Las Vegas. In the second half of the session, Hamilton’s first lap on the red-rimmed soft tyres brought him to the top with 1:35.561 before giving way to his teammate.
Gabriel Bortoleto was noted for a potential yellow flag infringement which was to be investigated after the session.
Track evolution saw the times continue to tumble as Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and Williams established themselves as the fastest teams so far this weekend. All four teams mentioned ended the session in the top 10.
Ultimately, Leclerc emerged quickest with a 1:34.802 as a part of his soft tyre run. Following closely behind was Albon, 0.166s off the pace compared to Leclerc. Rounding off the top three for FP1 was Tsunoda, ahead of his teammate Verstappen.
FP2: Norris storms to the top
After brief periods of rain, the drivers emerged back onto the track for the second practice session under the lights in Las Vegas. Track conditions on this already low-grip circuit had turned into slippery and greasy which can catch drivers out.
Ahead of the session, Bortotelo was cleared of investigation for a potential yellow flag infringement during FP1. Additionally, McLaren made technical adjustments ahead of the session, returning to the rear wing set up for Monza that saw both drivers on the podium.
Once again, all the drivers were committed to the yellow-marked medium tyre for the opening part of the second practice session. In the first 15 minutes, the Mercedes duo of Russell and Kimi Antonelli traded fastest laps with Ferrari’s Hamilton.
However, McLaren seemed to have revitalised their fortunes as they briefly occupied the P1 and P2 spots ahead of Russell with their changed rear-wing.
25 minutes into the session, Norris led from Verstappen who appeared ahead of Hamilton. On the medium tyres, Norris set a 1:33.943, which left Verstappen 0.162s adrift and Hamilton a further 0.184s behind Verstappen.
Norris reported the first parts of rain in the final sector of the track ahead of a red flag being waved with 21 minutes remaining in the session. It was later revealed by the FIA that precautions were being taken after a marshal reported a loose manhole cover.
The session resumed with under six minutes left on the clock but soon, Leclerc’s session came to a premature end as a potential gearbox issue saw him sidelined. Shortly after, another red flag was waved which brought the second practice session to an early end.
In a reversal of his fortunes from FP1, Norris emerged fastest with Kimi Antonelli closely behind and Charles Leclerc completing the top three at the end of the first day of running.
FP3: Russell makes his mark
Changing weather conditions saw drivers hesitant to emerge from their garages for the final practice session of the weekend. Piastri, one of the first to take to the track, set his first time on intermediate tyres.
15 minutes gone and all the drivers were on intermediate tyres with Norris at the front of the field with 1:43.078 ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. The threat of rain increased with Turn 12 reported to be the first to be hit by the rain if it should arrive.
As time continued to tick down, Tsunoda was brought in by Red Bull with an issue that was later revealed to be a punctured tyre. The team also took the opportunity to make adjustments to his rear suspension.
At the halfway mark of the final practice session, there were six drivers who were yet to set a time. Simultaneously, Norris became the first driver to experiment with slick tyres as he came to the track on red-marked soft tyres.
In quick succession, Norris’ teammate Piastri, both Ferrari drivers, and Tsunoda also emerged on the slick tyres to test the changing conditions. As a part of Hamilton’s experiment on the soft tyres, he narrowly avoided a collision with the back of Lawson’s Racing Bulls which avoided steward investigation.
As the conditions continued to change, and the rain continued to stay away, the times continued to tumble as all the drivers on the track utilised their soft tyres. With 17 minutes remaining, Leclerc led the Red Bull drivers with Tsunoda ahead of Verstappen on this occasion.
McLaren had issues with both of their cars, leaving the pair P19 and P20 in the final practice session. Norris was brought in after a suspected safety issue with the electrics on his car while Piastri’s car lost all telemetry.
In the final practice session, it was last year’s Grand Prix winner Russell who set the mark with the fastest time, with Verstappen and Albon completing the top three.
Looking Ahead
It seems as though all the top teams are in the mix for pole position ahead of qualifying. with questions unanswered about McLaren's true pace and everything relying on split-second decisions to leave the garage for optimal track evolution, the showdown for P1 is not one to be missed.
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