Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice
Yesterday at 02:11 AM
Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las Vegas, pipping McLaren's Lando Norris to the top spot by a slender 0.011s in the nighttime FP2 session.
George Russell was best of the rest in third ahead of Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, with a strong performance from Pierre Gasly putting Alpine up in sixth place by the end of the hour.
Max Verstappen was down in 17th after drifting wide on his one flying lap attempt before the session was briefly red-flagged for Alex Albon coming to a stop with a fuel system issue on the Williams.
After a brief hiatus since Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell set the pace in FP1, it was time for Formula 1 to get get back to a night shift in Las Vegas for a chilly second practice. Getting straight to work when the Strip opened for business were the newly pink-hued Alpine cars of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon leading the way, Sauber's Valtteri Bottas close behind with the teams opting to find their footing on the mediums.
It was Haas' Kevin Magnussen who took the early lead of the timesheets with a first lap clocking in at 1:37.711s, but Russell was soon up to speed with a time of 1:36.482s which Hamilton soon lowered further to 1:35.805s. However the initial laps were more about checking the state of the track and the change in conditions since the end of FP1. Track temperatures had dipped to 11C meaning there were plenty of lock-ups and run-offs to entertain the crowd, with Magnussen into the run-off area at turn 15 which necessitatedg a swift handbrake turn.
Russell was soon top again by four tenths from McLaren's Lando Norris, with Charles Leclerc up to third for Ferrari before going all the way to the top with his next run timed at 1:34.605s as the track started to clean up. Less snappy with his early excursion was Fernando Alonso who radioed back to the Aston Martin pit wall that "I think you need to change the set-up. More bouncing." Having already complained about a lack of grip, Red Bull's Max Verstappen also bailed out at the same spot on his latest lap, leaving him P9.
The first flurry of flying laps complete, many cars opted to return to pit lane for some tweaks before continuing. While most were soon back in action, there was a longer stoppage for Alex Albon with the Williams stripping off the bodywork off the rear of his FW46 with fire extinguishers at the ready just in case. "Alex is experiencing an issue with the fuel system and the team are investigating further," the team said on social media. The squad had been forced to rebuild cars for both Albon and Franco Colapinto after their accident-strewn time in Brazil.
Having now switched to soft tyres, Russell was soon back on top ahead of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with a new top time of 1:34.015s having produced two purple sectors and one green one en route. That was almost still a second and a half slower than last year's pole time so there was clearly plenty more to come. Moving into second, Hamilton was two tenths behind his team mate but soon pipped by the latest run from Sainz which got within nine hundredths of Russell.
Norris then took over with his next run clocking in at 1:33.836s. Russell still looked fast despite his older tyres, but traffic thwarted his bid to go back on top. Verstappen had similar problems and the Red Bull found itself marooned outside the top ten after drifting wide with Zhou Guanyu also going straight on at turn 5 in the Sauber.
Albon had been sent back out, but all was still not well with the Williams which came to a stop at turn 6, necessitating a red flag to allow marshals to clear the track by getting the stricken car down the escape road. The session soon resumed, Hamilton now on top by 0.011s from Norris with just over 20 minutes remaining on the clock. The interruption had stalled the momentum of flying laps, and now the focus returned to longer high fuel loads with cars switching back on medium tyres.
The session concluded with few incidents or issues. McLaren CEO Zak Brown noted that: "The track is very slippery, and every driver is struggling to get the perfect lap in." Hamilton finished the session on top with a time of 1:33.825s putting him just ahead of Norris and Russell, followed by Ferrari pair Sainz and Leclerc and then Magnussen, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top ten.
Verstappen remained P17 while Albon was last and almost six seconds off Hamilon's pace after the early finish to his troubled FP2. By comparison, his team mate Colapinto put in the most laps of the 16-turn, 6.201km Vegas circuit during the session with 29 completed, the same as Gasly.
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