Feature
What the teams said – Thursday in Las Vegas
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Mercedes
Mercedes looked quick on the medium tyres early on in FP1 and followed that up on the softs. Hamilton bolted his set on later than his team mate and made the most of track evolution to top the timing sheets courtesy of his very last lap of the session. But he showed that was no fluke by topping FP2 as well, beating Russell by nearly two tenths. It was a perfect day for Mercedes – but will their form hold into qualifying once the track grips up and the others start to dial up those engine modes? That’s the question, which will only get answered tomorrow.
FP2: Hamilton keeps Mercedes on top in second Las Vegas GP practice
Lewis Hamilton – FP1: 1:35.001, P1; FP2: 1:33.825, P1
“I felt really good out there today. I think that is the first practice day this year that we’ve been consistently strong, and the car has felt quick throughout. I am really enjoying driving this track and it was nice to put together three good, competitive sectors over the lap. Despite topping both sessions, it is difficult to know exactly where we are in the competitive order with everyone running different fuel loads and run plans. Our long run pace didn’t look quite as good as our speed on the single lap. We therefore have work to do overnight to try and improve that without compromising our speed for qualifying. I’m hopeful we can still be in the mix tomorrow; I will get some good rest tonight and come back strong.”
George Russell - FP1: 1:35.397, P2; FP2: 1:34.015, P3
“That was a really good day for us as a team. It is still only practice, but it is definitely encouraging. The car has been working from the off and I felt good behind the wheel. Lewis was on it from lap one and did a great job to top both sessions. That said, it is a street track and quite a dirty circuit today. As it continues to both clean up and grip up, I am sure it will continue to evolve. It is likely that the times will be three seconds or so quicker come qualifying tomorrow. We will therefore pick through the data overnight to understand exactly why we were so strong and how we can continue to make improvements too. It is clear others will take a step forward so we will have to be at our best if we want to challenge at the front again on Friday.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“We’ve had a solid day here in Las Vegas. It’s tricky with the very cold temperatures to get the tyres into the window but in relative terms, it looks like we were coping reasonably well. It was encouraging that all our laps on low fuel looked competitive in both practice sessions. The circuit is going to grip up significantly so we need to make sure we can track that with the setup, but so far it does look like we’re in a better place than at most of the recent races. It's quite hard to work out where we sit on the long run. We saw a lot of degradation across the field, with cars that pushed harder early on looking poor later in the stint but it’s clear that a bit of management is going to be required to look after the tyres on Saturday night.”
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McLaren
Piastri suffered a bizarre moment in FP1 when his car refused to turn off, despite several attempts from the driver and mechanics. In the end he was wheeled into the garage with his engine still running – but that issue was soon rectified. As for Norris, he looked quick in FP1 – making a strong start to his weekend. He backed that up in FP2 as well, only winding up one hundredth behind Hamilton so looks in good shape heading towards qualifying.
Lando Norris – FP1: 1:35.954, P3; FP2: 1:33.836, P2
“Thursday done in Vegas. It’s nice to be back in the car. It was tough out on track. It’s slippery and there’s very low grip, similar to last year so we expected these conditions. A challenging combination. It’s slightly difficult to feel comfortable and get the car in a good place, but we made some progress, which is always positive. We still have some more work to do, so we’ll debrief and prepare for tomorrow.”
Oscar Piastri - FP1: 1:36.451, P8; FP2: 1:34.798, P8
“An interesting day. There are a couple of things we need to work on, but I think the pace seems pretty reasonable, so I’m relatively happy with today. It’s now just about getting it all together and getting the tyres into the right window, which I’m not sure I fully did today. I still think there are a lot of positives to take away, we just need to tidy it up ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
“There were no surprises during the first day of running here in Las Vegas. Similar to last year with the cold conditions, we expected low grip and unique tyre behaviour and that was the case. Finding the right set-up isn’t easy, but we still seem to be relatively competitive. However, Mercedes seem to be very quick, likewise Ferrari and I’m sure Red Bull will also be competitive for the rest of the weekend. We need to work hard to maximise the performance of the car in these tricky conditions and score as many points as possible.”
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Ferrari
Both Ferrari drivers looked quick on the soft compound tyre in FP1, setting their lap times slightly earlier than their rivals. Sainz was running a new floor too – although this was supposedly just to benchmark it for wind tunnel correlation. They were in the mix in FP2 as well, this time the Spaniard just pipping his team mate. Leclerc was on pole here last season, but it looks like it could be a four-team battle for that P1 grid slot tomorrow.
Charles Leclerc - FP1: 1:36.007, P4; FP2: 1:34.313, P5
"It was not a great day for us and it seems to have been tricky for everyone else as well. We are not as strong as we expected to be coming into the weekend. With the cold weather conditions, it was difficult to bring the tyres up to temperature, which we knew would be a challenge, so we will work on that. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow."
Carlos Sainz - FP1: 1:36.218, P6; FP2: 1:34.105, P4
"A complicated Thursday here in Vegas due to a challenging track with very low grip which gave us a strange feeling inside the car. For FP2 we tried something different but we are still not satisfied with where we are and we need to keep working on it. Hopefully the analysis tonight will help in finding our biggest areas of improvement and we can get to Qualifying in better shape. Race pace wasn’t too bad, but there’s still a lot to do."
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Red Bull
Verstappen was one of a number of drivers to lock up in FP1, but that aside it was an assured opening for the Dutchman. Neither Red Bull driver managed a representative lap on the softs in FP2 though, both hampered by the red flags for Albon’s stricken Williams. The team opted to then switch both to longer race simulation runs, thus their place in the pecking order remains a mystery heading into Friday’s final practice session.
Max Verstappen – FP1: 1:36.038, P5; FP2: 1:35.834, P17
“It was really slippery on track today: I think we struggled to make the tyres work, especially over one lap, and we were quite far off with the pace. On the long runs we started off a bit more competitively, but we still need to fine tune a few things. It is very cold and the conditions are quite unique around here. However, at the end of the day this is the same for everyone, so we need to understand what we are doing wrong. The issue for us is definitely tyre related as we have no grip and it feels like driving on ice. We will look into what we can do to fix this and hopefully improve for tomorrow.”
Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:36.536, P10; FP2: 1:36.055, P19
“I think we have some work to do over one lap, I think the long run looked a little bit more promising, but we have got to focus overnight to really try to exploit everything because we are not where we want. We were mainly struggling with balance in the low speed today, the rear is stepping out a lot, we came down a lot on downforce with the rear wing and it made it quite tricky. Especially over a single lap we need to improve and hopefully we can do that, make another step and go in the right direction. We know that here, Sunday is the most important day, and you can overtake and so on, so it will be very critical to be able to have some good pace.”
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Alpine
Alpine set their lap times later than the rest in FP1, but both drivers improved into FP2 which should give them a confidence boost. Gasly in particular looked quick, finishing in the top 10 in both sessions in an encouraging display. Ocon was a fraction behind in his ‘Captain America’ themed helmet, as Alpine seek to bolster their sixth place in the constructors’ standings.
Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:37.152, P14; FP2: 1:35.221, P12
“I am excited to be back on track again in Las Vegas and drive under the lights of the Strip. Today has been a productive day that has given us plenty to debrief on overnight. As expected, tyre degradation and grip were key factors in today’s sessions. They will be a big focus for us over the weekend as they will play a big role in the Race, which we can try to use to our advantage like last season. We have some performance to find ahead of Qualifying and I am looking forward to Free Practice 3 to implement some improvements. The weekend will not be easy, but we will work together to maximise what we can and aim to have a positive result.”
Pierre Gasly - FP1: 1:36.478, P9; FP2: 1:34.651, P6
“It’s great to be back in Las Vegas at this really unique venue for Formula 1. Track conditions were difficult to begin with, as expected, with low grip and a lot of sliding. I felt quite good straight away in the car and we seemed competitive right from Free Practice 1. We ended sixth place in Free Practice 2 so we are in the mix and we know our targets – Haas and RB – were also competitive. We must keep working hard tonight as the long run on high fuel was more challenging with tyre graining. The midfield is close where a tenth of a second can change a lot of things. We remain optimistic to be in the mix but Qualifying is one thing, the Race is another, and we must get on top of a few areas if we are to come away with a good result.”
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Haas
Haas had a good start to their third home race of the season, with both drivers climbing into the top 10 in FP2. They need to overhaul a deficit of three points to reclaim sixth spot from Alpine in the constructors’, and on this showing that looks a possibility. Magnussen seems to have bounced back from the illness that kept him from competing in Brazil, the Dane the pick of the two Haas drivers on Thursday.
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Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:37.200, P15; FP2: 1:34.818, P9
“It was a decent Thursday, no hiccups, and I felt good in the car in FP1 which is invaluable around a track like this. We’ll try and dial-in a little bit more performance, but I think we can fight to be the fifth-fastest team again and fight for points come race day.”
Kevin Magnussen – FP1: 1:36.811, P11; FP2: 1:34.686, P7
“It’s been looking good. Like the last few races, it’s been a strong start, and the car is looking good. It’s a strange track as the surface is super slippery and you’re sliding around and graining your tires, so the track is evolving every lap and you’re gaining seconds each time. It’s hard to feel super confident as it’s clear it could change around quite a bit, but it’s a good place to build for tomorrow.”
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal
“I think it was a decent Thursday; our pace is there or thereabouts. It wasn’t perfect but as far as practice days go, it was fine. The problem we have with tire graining, I think it’s the same for everyone, so we need to fine-tune our management to have slightly better consistency. On low-fuel pace, again there’s a bit to improve, but it’s a good starting point.”
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RB
Lawson was the first driver to complain about the lack of grip, the Kiwi making his debut at this circuit and immediately finding the going tough. Neither RB driver made much of an impression in FP1, but Tsunoda in particular jumped up the order in FP2. That was important, given both Haas and Alpine look strong here. RB have fallen back in the constructors’ standings, but all is not lost – especially at a street circuit where anything could happen.
WATCH: Ride onboard as Hamilton sets the fastest Thursday lap in Las Vegas
Liam Lawson - FP1: 1:38.730, P20; FP2: 1:35.671, P15
“A challenging day today, honestly. We started the day really slow and then we made a step up and learnt quite a lot. It’s obviously extremely cold and the track earlier was really slippery and dirty, so you’re just waiting for it to build up. In FP2 the track was colder but better, and we learnt things that will help us tomorrow. We have the knowledge from today to improve, so hopefully we can be punching on the back end of the top 10, but it depends on how everyone else steps up as well.”
Yuki Tsunoda - FP1: 1:38.574, P19; FP2: 1:34.997, P10
“Overall, it was a positive first day here in Las Vegas. We struggled a bit in FP1, but then we managed to turn it around later in FP2. It’s a positive sign, as usually it’s not an easy thing to do, and I think we’ve found the direction to follow for the rest of the weekend. We need some more finetuning for tomorrow to find a couple of tenths to try and get into Q3. The long runs also seemed positive, even if I think it depends a lot on how we’re able to manage the tyres, given the tricky and unusual conditions we have here, but will be important to find the right balance in terms of car setup between short and long runs.”
Alan Permane, Racing Director
“Honestly, this was quite a tough day for us. We didn’t get the best out of the cars in FP1, but we learned a lot from it and made several changes between the sessions. Both drivers were much happier in the second session, although not completely satisfied. This has given us a clear indication of the direction we have to go in overnight and I believe we can make a similar step from FP2 to FP3 as we did between today’s sessions. That should give us a much more competitive car.”
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Aston Martin
It was a quiet opening day for Aston Martin, with both drivers having a relatively stress-free opening. Alonso did complain about bouncing to his race engineer, as he dropped back off the pace in FP2. Stroll had a more consistent day, but the team do look a little behind some of their midfield rivals right now – making the fight for the top 10 in qualifying a tough ask tomorrow.
Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:36.262, P7; FP2: 1:35.440, P14
"It wasn't easy out there with very cold temperatures tonight making it difficult to keep the tyres in the right window. We tried a few different car setup philosophies in both sessions. We have some work to do overnight to find more performance ahead of tomorrow."
Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:36.817, P12; FP2: 1:35.251, P13
"It's been a tricky day at track. This circuit can be a challenge to drive with big braking zones and close walls, and the cold temperatures mean it's hard to switch on the tyres. We got a good amount of running in though. It's too early to make predictions for the weekend, but we'll work through the data and make some improvements tonight."
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Williams
Albon had a difficult Thursday, forced to sit out much of FP2 when a fuel systems issue was detected in his car. Once fixed, he headed straight out – only to crawl to a stop and have to abandon his car, causing the first red flags of the weekend. That leaves him short on laps, but luckily Colapinto managed plenty, so the team still have some data to draw from heading into the rest of the weekend.
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Alex Albon - FP1: 1:36.948, P13; FP2: 1:39.629, P20
"We’re certainly lacking mileage today and around this track, getting those laps in is vital as it’s so tricky and you need to feel confident with everything, especially your braking confidence. We’ll be able to fix the issue, but we certainly have a lot of work to do tomorrow in FP3. We need to look at our performance and see where we can improve but it will be about getting those tyres in the right window, and we’re not quite there yet."
Franco Colapinto - FP1: 1:38.025, P17; FP2: 1:35.868, P18
"It’s been a very nice experience today to drive under the lights of Vegas for the first time. In FP1 we were quite strong, but the track was very dirty, like a rally track, when we started today. It’s a very low grip track and, with the low temperatures, it’s difficult to get the tyres up to temp and keep them in the window. We will work hard tonight to understand the best direction to go in tomorrow and I’m sure we are going to be stronger."
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director
"After the damage we suffered in Mexico and Brazil, the team did a phenomenal job to get us ready for this weekend. The drivers will ramp up the pace in each session and you will see that as we go through the weekend, but every lap counts on this tricky circuit and unfortunately Alex suffered a fuel system issue which has put us a bit on the back foot. It is Franco’s first time here and he is learning where the limit is. We will keep building and are looking forward to Qualifying tomorrow."
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Kick Sauber
Bottas has been handed a five-place grid drop for Saturday’s race after taking on a new Energy Store, so his weekend will be slightly compromised by that. Nonetheless, he looked in the mix in FP2, the Finn often excelling in slippery, low grip conditions. Zhou was working harder by contrast, the Chinese racer running wide a couple of times for good measure in what most agreed were particularly challenging track conditions.
HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the FP2 action in Las Vegas as Hamilton edges out Norris
Valtteri Bottas - FP1: 1:37.765, P16; FP2: 1:35.020, P11
“The upgrades we brought this weekend seem to be functioning as expected, which is a good sign indicating that we've made a step forward with the performance of the car. While it’s always difficult to say exactly where we’ll stand tomorrow, we don’t seem to be in too bad a position compared to the most recent events. Of course, the five-place grid penalty is a setback, but we’ll do everything we can in qualifying to be as far high in the standings as we can. Now, the focus shifts to finding more single-lap performance to improve our qualifying performance, while also working to strengthen our race pace, which has been an area of weakness for us recently.”
Zhou Guanyu - FP1: 1:38.350, P18; FP2: 1:35.765, P16
“During today’s practice sessions, we were able to collect a good amount of data. It’s pretty insane how low the grip is! While the track improves session by session, every time it resets it feels like ice skating. We’ve tried different setups, and while I’m still searching for the limit, the balance isn’t quite in the ‘happy place’ yet. I’m sure we can work on it tonight: I know what I need from the car, and if we can find the right way to get there, there’s potential to unlock. The conditions are tricky, especially in certain corners, but that adds to the challenge of this track. I’m excited for tomorrow’s qualifying — anything can happen.”
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Pirelli
Simone Berra, Chief Engineer
“It was a very productive day, because the drivers were able to run continuously for all of the available two hours, gathering plenty of information and data on how the cars and tyres are behaving on an unusual track and in very different atmospheric conditions to normal.
“Obviously, the track was very dirty and performance improved dramatically the more the cars ran. The same will be true for the rest of the weekend, as is always the case on street circuits, especially those such as Las Vegas and Monaco, where the roads are reopened to normal traffic once the day’s track action is over. It’s hard to imagine that the level of grip, that was very low today, will stabilise: it will improve constantly, even over the course of the race. We saw a significant improvement in lap times compared to last year: Hamilton’s 1m 33.825s is almost one and a half seconds quicker than Charles Leclerc’s 2023 time of 1m 35.265s and only just over a second off the Monegasque’s pole time of 1m 32.726s.
“As for tyre behaviour, it should be stressed that the hard looks like being the compound best suited to the race, paradoxically because nobody ran it today. As regards graining, the very low temperatures saw it appear on the medium and soft, especially across the front axle, but from what we have seen today, it was only on the surface of the tyres, therefore without having much effect on wear. In these conditions, the cars suffer mainly with understeer and one of the key points of the weekend will be to balance the set-up as well as possible. Also to be kept in mind is how much the front tyres will cool down on the longest straight: today we saw an average drop of around 35 degrees Centigrade at the braking point for Turn 14.”
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