F1 Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in first practice

Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 in Formula 1’s opening practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after overhauling team-mate George Russell at the chequered flag.

Hamilton’s 1m35.001s headliner was set at the close of the session, as he found 0.396s over Russell in a session defined by ever-improving track conditions as the Las Vegas Strip slowly rubbered in with continued running.

Drivers encountered a low-grip surface to open the session with, as a thin layer of dust led Liam Lawson to remark that it was like driving in the wet. 

This led to considerable track evolution in the opening half-hour of the session, with most conducting exploratory runs on the medium tyre. Max Verstappen set his first lap on softs, a 1m44.239s, but this was quickly overcome when Kevin Magnussen posted a 1m42.645s on mediums. 

Further progression took the times below the 100-second mark; Russell put together a 1m39.595s, still on mediums, but was outpaced by Hamilton’s 1m38.155s effort.

Hamilton made further strides to set a 1m36.927s, a lap that withstood efforts from further medium-tyre laps before Ferrari went faster on the softs within the final 20 minutes.

Charles Leclerc found a 1m36.430s on the red-walled C5 tyre to move to the top of the order, although his team-mate Carlos Sainz took two tenths out of that effort to set a new benchmark.

The scope of track evolution continued with Lando Norris’ subsequent lap, which put him top of the order after he’d set a 1m35.954s on his own soft-tyre effort, which remained largely unbothered until the final five minutes.

Russell then unearthed a 1m35.619s, underlining the need to do a second prep lap with the cold track conditions, but there was room for further improvement; Hamilton found just under two tenths to reclaim top spot, before Russell fired back to the zenith of the order with 0.09s in hand – helped by a tow across the line from Pierre Gasly.

But that wasn’t it, and Hamilton found a colossal 0.4s edge at the session’s climax to ensure he was clear of the field with a 1m35.001s.

This also put Hamilton 0.953s clear of third-placed Norris, who opted to close out the session with further running on the medium compound rather than join the Mercedes duo in chasing lap-times on the soft.

Leclerc improved on his earlier headliner to claim fourth in the order to get ahead of Sainz, although the Ferraris ended up sandwiching Verstappen as the championship leader improved to fifth overall.

Fernando Alonso was seventh fastest over Oscar Piastri, as Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez completed the top 10.

Photos from Las Vegas GP Practice 

F1 Las Vegas GP – FP1 results:

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Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	L. HamiltonMercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	26	1’35.001		234.982
2	G. RussellMercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	29	+0.396 1’35.397	0.396	234.007
3	L. NorrisMcLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	27	+0.953 1’35.954	0.557	232.648
4	C. LeclercFerrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	27	+1.006 1’36.007	0.053	232.520
5	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	25	+1.037 1’36.038	0.031	232.445
6	C. SainzFerrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	26	+1.217 1’36.218	0.180	232.010
7	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	25	+1.261 1’36.262	0.044	231.904
8	O. PiastriMcLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	26	+1.450 1’36.451	0.189	231.450
9	P. GaslyAlpine	10		Alpine	Renault	24	+1.477 1’36.478	0.027	231.385
10	S. PerezRed Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	25	+1.535 1’36.536	0.058	231.246
11	K. MagnussenHaas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	24	+1.810 1’36.811	0.275	230.589
12	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	25	+1.816 1’36.817	0.006	230.575
13	A. AlbonWilliams	23		Williams	Mercedes	26	+1.947 1’36.948	0.131	230.263
14	E. OconAlpine	31		Alpine	Renault	25	+2.151 1’37.152	0.204	229.780
15	N. HulkenbergHaas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	24	+2.199 1’37.200	0.048	229.666
16	V. BottasSauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	25	+2.764 1’37.765	0.565	228.339
17	F. ColapintoWilliams	43		Williams	Mercedes	28	+3.024 1’38.025	0.260	227.733
18	Z. GuanyuSauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	23	+3.349 1’38.350	0.325	226.981
19	Y. TsunodaRB	22		RB	Red Bull	23	+3.573 1’38.574	0.224	226.465
20	L. LawsonRB	30		RB	Red Bull	28	+3.729 1’38.730	0.156	226.107
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