Hamilton dominates Vegas night as Mercedes shines
Lewis Hamilton dominated Thursday practice in Las Vegas, leading a compressed field where the top four were separated by just 0.3s. Mercedes showed promising pace while Red Bull remained surprisingly low in the timing sheets, setting up an intriguing qualifying battle.
Mercedes' resurgence continues as Lewis Hamilton sweeps Thursday practice sessions under the neon lights of Las Vegas, setting up an intriguing battle for pole position.
Mercedes emergence in the desert
In a display of renewed confidence, Lewis Hamilton dominated both practice sessions on Formula 1's return to Las Vegas, leading a tightly packed field in FP2 with a time of 1m33.825s.
The seven-time world champion's performance, particularly on the soft compound tyres, suggests Mercedes has found a sweet spot with their car setup on the newly-christened street circuit.
Close margins at the top
The evening session revealed a significantly more competitive field than FP1, with the top four drivers separated by merely three-tenths of a second.
McLaren's Lando Norris emerged as Hamilton's closest challenger, missing out on the top spot by just 0.011s, while George Russell secured third place to reinforce Mercedes' strong showing.
Track evolution and red flag drama
As the circuit continued to rubber in, lap times tumbled rapidly compared to the earlier session.
Charles Leclerc demonstrated this progression on medium tyres before the field transitioned to softs, though their qualifying simulation runs were interrupted by a red flag caused by Alex Albon's stranded Williams, which had been plagued by fuel system issues throughout the session.
Red Bull's surprising struggle
Perhaps the most notable development of the session was the uncharacteristically low positioning of both Red Bull cars.
Championship winner Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez could only manage 17th and 19th respectively, though their times were set on medium tyres rather than the faster soft compound.
This strategic choice may mask their true potential for Saturday's qualifying session.
The session concluded with teams focusing on higher-fuel runs, providing crucial data for what promises to be an unpredictable inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix under the famous Strip's bright lights.
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