Friday’s chaos and cold temperatures will make the race for pole position at the Las Vegas Grand Prix very close, with at least four teams aiming for the top spot.
Championship leader Lando Norris led the second practice session by just 0.029 seconds from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third with 0.161 seconds, but other expected front runners were unable to complete qualifying simulations on soft tires due to red flags.
Two red flags in the final 20 minutes allowed race control to check for a possible loose drain cover in the final sector, and also prevented the drivers from practicing simulating a race stint.
Las Vegas has been McLaren’s weakest circuit for the past two years, with neither Norris nor Oscar Piastri able to qualify or finish the race inside the top five, but the British driver said he was “fighting for pole”.
“I think the car feels better than last year, and you could feel it in the first lap,” he said.
“We had some good feelings. In the end we didn’t do a lot of running, we didn’t use a lot of fuel, but we had the pace.
“It was pretty tight between a lot of guys and a lot of guys couldn’t time their laps. We made some progress from FP1 to FP2 and hopefully we can do more.”
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Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris were among several drivers who were all forced to move to Escape Road during opening practice
Piastri added: “The pace of the car was OK, but there weren’t that many people running on the softs. That said, there were a lot of positives and things to consider.”
Norris is 24 points ahead of Piastri and 49 points ahead of Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, and a strong race in Las Vegas could give him the chance to win his first world championship.
If Norris gets at least nine points ahead of Verstappen on Sunday, the reigning world champion’s title defense will officially be over, with the maximum points he can earn from the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi being 58.
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McLaren’s Lando Norris remains aware the championship race ‘could change very quickly’ ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix
Red Bull have been strong on low-downforce tracks this season, but with temperatures expected to be just 9C in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday, Verstappen believes that means that won’t necessarily be reflected in this weekend, but the Dutchman can’t be taken lightly.
Verstappen said: “(The car) is fine, but it’s difficult to understand how to deal with the interruptions. We still need to improve a little bit to get more grip.”
“The track has improved quite a bit from session to session, so we’ll focus on that to see how we handle the tires in qualifying and the race.”
Hamilton expects few changes needed at Ferrari
Ferrari’s best hope of not ending 2025 without a win comes this weekend, with Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc both secretly confident in the pace of their cars.
Slow corners and long straights played into Ferrari’s hands, and Leclerc showed it by taking the lead in first practice.
Leclerc, who suffered a slow gearbox problem in second practice, said: “We’re not in a bad situation. We’ll have to wait and see. Mercedes are very strong and McLaren and Red Bull are also in the fight, so I think it’s going to be a tough situation.”
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Charles Leclerc ended his second practice session in Las Vegas with a problem with his Ferrari’s gearbox.
“I just hope we can get to the front and be in the fight for pole position. So it’s been a positive Friday. The important thing is to anticipate what the conditions will be and make sure we start on the right foot.”
“We have a pretty clear idea of what we want to do to improve the car, so we’ll see if they were the right choices.”
Hamilton has yet to stand on the podium as a Ferrari driver, and has never finished a season in which he did not finish a race in the top three.
The seven-time world champion followed Leclerc in both of Friday’s practice sessions and said the feel of the car was “pretty decent.”
“FP1 was good, I just couldn’t get the lap in and it was the same in FP2,” he said.
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton nearly collided with Nico Hulkenberg during P2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix
“We improved the car in FP2. We felt strong in the first sector, but unfortunately the yellow and red flags got in the way. But we all feel the same way.”
“But I learned some good things and I’m excited for tomorrow. I’m happy with the car, so I probably won’t make any major changes tonight.”
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Lewis Hamilton is optimistic Ferrari can be competitive in Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying
Russell downplays Mercedes’ expectations
Mercedes boasted overwhelming strength at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, with George Russell leading the team one-two and turning pole position into victory.
Russell was well on his way to beating Norris’ pace-setting lap time in second practice until the first red flag came out just before the final corner.
Mercedes is generally competitive in cold climates, but for the Silver Arrows in Las Vegas, “it’s not a tough situation at all,” Russell said.
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Relive George Russell’s hilarious radio message after winning the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
“We are in limbo. We have to be realistic. There were a lot of expectations for us going into this weekend,” he said.
“We’ve changed the car a lot since last year. We’ve definitely made it a better car throughout the season, but maybe we’re not as competitive here as we were 12 months ago.”
“We’re still around there, but it was close. Lando was fast in FP1, Verstappen and Leclerc were fast, Kimi was fast, so it’s going to be close.”
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. It’s not like I was setting the timesheets on fire. We’re getting there or thereabouts.”
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Mercedes’ George Russell and Kimi Antonelli share their hopes for the weekend after strong results in FP1 and FP2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Antonelli believes track evolution will be a key factor in qualifying for his first Las Vegas outing, but problems with traffic and untimely yellow and red flags mean drivers can’t risk everything by being the last driver to set a lap.
“The evolution (of the course) has been incredible, so I’m hoping for the same tomorrow,” said the 19-year-old Italian.
“We need to continue to evolve our grip and tune the car to the track. Qualifying is one of the last sessions you want to be on the track, but with the red flags it’s difficult, so it’s important to find the right balance.”
Sky Sports F1 Las Vegas GP Schedule
Saturday, November 22nd
12:15am: Las Vegas GP Practice 3 (Session starts at 12:30am)*
2:10am: F1 Academy Race 1*
3am: Las Vegas GP qualifying build-up*
4am: Las Vegas GP Qualifying*
6am: Ted’s Qualification Notes*
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Sunday, November 23rd
12:15am: F1 Academy Race 2
2:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP Build-up*
4am: Las Vegas Grand Prix*
6am: Checkered flag: Las Vegas Grand Prix reaction*
7am: Ted’s Notes*
*The main event will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports
F1’s thrilling title race continues with this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
