Free Practice 3 in Las Vegas saw a strong performance from Mercedes, with George Russell topping the session.
What happened so far in Las Vegas?
Lewis Hamilton topped both practice sessions on Thursday for Mercedes, establishing himself as the driver to beat ahead of the weekend’s Grand Prix.
McLaren and Ferrari showcased strong pace, while Red Bull struggled to match their rivals. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and last year’s pole-sitter, Charles Leclerc, delivered impressive performances despite earlier concerns that the cooler conditions might hinder them.
McLaren’s Lando Norris also stood out, recovering well after setbacks in Brazil to post competitive times in FP2.
The chilly 15°C temperatures appeared to favour Mercedes, whose car performed well in the conditions.
With Valtteri Bottas carrying a five-place grid penalty, the fight for dominance in Free Practice Three was set to intensify.
The clock started ticking down
The characteristics of this circuit caused significant evolution throughout the sessions as more cars laid rubber on the track.Â? Most drivers faced challenges at some point yesterday, with none showing a particularly strong race pace during longer runs in FP2. This uncertainty could set the stage for an intriguing race tomorrow.
Zhou started his session on hard tyres, while Perez opted for mediums. Hamilton also ran on hards, likely aiming to conserve additional mediums for the race. Aston Martin joined the action, though it appeared they were “scrubbing” their tyres.
Meanwhile, in the Alpine garage, Gasly’s car remained on stands and was missing a front wing, preventing him from returning to the track.
Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson complained about the dustiness of the track, so the first time set (PER 1:41.941) was not competitive.
He was struggling for grip on Thursday and Max is still finding his feet so far today #F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/YNmmExi5ZD
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2024
Max Verstappen, who could win his fourth championship in Las Vegas, also seemed to be struggling. Will the coronation be postponed until Qatar?
Halfway point of FP3
Lap times finally improved, dipping back into the 1m 30s range, marking progress. Oscar Piastri returned to the track and set the fastest time with a 1:35.759s, placing him 1.132 seconds ahead of his teammate.
More drivers began running on the soft tyres, which helped improve grip along the racing line. Bottas, Hamilton, Lawson, and both Haas drivers switched to the red-marked compound.
Tsunoda clocked a 1:36.558s, just ahead of Hamilton, who posted a 1:36.590s.
Verstappen complained about his car and returned to the pits:
“It’s getting worse – the car is undriveable. I can’t drive it, I’m going to crash – my left front is completely *****.”
While Verstappen’s situation in his Red Bull seems almost precarious, both Haas drivers set very good times. Hülkenberg initially achieved first place with a 1:35.366, with his team-mate Magnussen only a few hundredths behind him.
The Ferraris also set fast times, with Leclerc recording a 1:35.109 and Sainz a 1:35.702.
Hamilton recorded a 1:34.565s, putting himself three-tenths ahead of the rest of the field.
Despite encountering some traffic, Russell took the top spot with a lap just 0.090s faster than Hamilton’s. Magnussen held onto third place, followed by Leclerc and Gasly.
Meanwhile, the two Red Bulls stayed in the pits, having only run on the medium compound tyres so far.
The two Mercedes fought each other for 1st and 2nd place – just like yesterday – while rivals like McLaren or Ferrari couldn’t get close to them as they had hoped.
The final minutes
Red Bull sent their drivers out on fresh soft tyres while most of the other teams remained in the pits, preparing their second set of soft. This marked the start of full qualifying simulation runs, with lower fuel loads on a track that had gained as much grip as possible.
Perez, positioned behind Verstappen, appeared to be benefiting from a tow. Norris was still on his first set of soft tyres, which was notable, while Piastri was on a fresh set of tyres.
Russell also switched to new softs and set the fastest time, edging out his teammate by a tenth of a second.
With just ten minutes remaining, there were still plenty of hot laps to come. Norris began his flying lap as Sainz took the lead, posting a 1:33.918, two tenths faster than Verstappen, who reported that his lap felt “miles better.”
Red Flag
With just a few minutes remaining, a red flag was waved. Stroll’s car started smoking, with the issue seeming to originate from the front brakes.
Red flags were then shown, as although Stroll had parked near a gap in the barriers, the car wasn’t safe to recover due to concerns about the battery.
Russell was able to beat Sainz’s time with a 1:33.570, returning to P1 on the time sheets.
The session resumed with just under one minute left – not enough time for another lap, but it was essential for the practice starts at the end of the session. Perez didn’t cross the exit line in time, so he couldn’t do a practice start.
Final results
- George Russell
- Oscar Piastri
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Max Verstappen
- Lewis Hamilton
- Alex Albon
- Franco Colapinto
- Kevin Magnussen
- Pierre Gasly
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Charles Leclerc
- Sergio Perez
- Esteban Ocon
- Fernando Alonso
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Valtteri Bottas
- Liam Lawson
- Lance Stroll
- Zhou Guanyu
Feature Image Credit: Clive Mason via Getty Images