F1 | FP1 | Las Vegas GP | Leclerc leads Albon and Tsunoda, McLaren struggle - Motorsport

Spread the love

FP1 at round 22 of the F1 season at the Las Vegas GP is in the books, view the full report and results below.

Isack Hadjar kicked things off with a 1:46.062 on mediums. However, seconds were taken off that shortly after as a 1:41.328 from Charles Leclerc put him over 4s clear for a short time. His former teammate Carlos Sainz beat it pumping in a 1:41.164 to go 0.164s faster.

The Monegasque went for a second push lap in succession and did a 1:39.733 to go over a second clear of Antonelli and Gasly.

On the straight down to turn 5, a piece fell off Alex Albon’s car. He boxed at the end of that lap.

At the front, Isack Hadjar was the first below 99s as he logged a 1:38.753. He was 0.1s quicker than Tsunoda, with Sainz, Hamilton and Bearman completing the top 5 at the 10 minutes mark.

Plenty of small moments

On the dusty track, Lewis Hamilton had a huge slide in turns 1 and 2 but carried on his way. Ollie Bearman (x2), Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had similar moments into turn 7 as rear grip was at a premium.

A surprising name was first into the 1:37s as a 1:37.990 from Pierre Gasly moved him into P1. Once again Carlos Sainz continued to be rapid as he logged a 1:37.588 to reclaim top spot.

Purple in Sector 1, Gasly got a tiny bit too deep into turn 12 and had to go straight on.

Defending World Champion Max Verstappen flexed his muscle as he smashed in a 1:36.493 to go top. Sainz (0.037s) and Tsunoda (0.601s) followed. Hülkenberg was 4th on the hards.

At turns 7 and 12, Gabriel Bortoleto had excursions into the run-off as he struggled to stop the Sauber.

After Max Verstappen did a 1:36.043 to extend his advantage, Charles Leclerc pumped in a 1:35.954 to go fastest by 0.089s. Carlos Sainz continued to be extremely quick and was only 0.192s away from P1 as the first third of the session was run.

Lando Norris has a scare

Out of turn 9, championship leader Lando Norris clipped the wall with his right rear tyre. He continued without issues, however.

At the halfway mark, a 1:35.776 from Max Verstappen put him 0.178s ahead of Charles Leclerc. Russell, Tsunoda, Sainz, Hamilton, Piastri, Antonelli, Stroll and Albon completed the top 10. Norris was down in P12 as the vast majority were on mediums for run 1. Only Alonso (soft) and Sauber (hards) were not.

Using the soft tyre, a 1:35.561 from Lewis Hamilton put him in P1, 0.215s quicker than his arch rival from 2021.

Teammate Charles Leclerc usurped that by 0.280s shortly afterwards as he went purple in sectors 1 and 2. He went faster again as a 1:35.121 moved him 0.440s clear of the field.

Down at turn 14, Fernando Alonso could not get the car stopped and had to go straight, with Liam Lawson doing the same near the end of it.

Alex Albon had a big lockup on the outside left front heading down to turn 5. He locked up again in turn 7 as well.

There was more victims to the turn 12 run-off as Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman had to abort laps by going too deep.

Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams are rapid

Red Bull came out to play and they were fast. Max Verstappen did a 1:37.109 to go 1st, before Yuki Tsunoda beat that by 0.038s. Charles Leclerc was not done, however, smashing in a 1:34.802 to reclaim top spot by 0.269s.

Inside the final 10 minutes, Alex Albon vaulted up to 2nd, 0.166s slower than the Ferrari. Carlos Sainz joined in as he posted a P5 time, 0.201s away from his stablemate.

The McLarens eventually got laps in, with Norris and Piastri going 6th and 7th. They looked a step behind the top 3 teams at that stage, however.

On his very last run, Alex Albon had a sizeable lockup into turn 12 as he had a scruffy session. He went straight on.

At the very end, Isack Hadjar split the McLaren drivers as the French driver moved into 7th.