Friday’s practice sessions offered a mixed but promising start for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, as both Ferrari drivers showed strong pace despite cold conditions and multiple red and yellow flag interruptions at the F1 Las Vegas GP.
Leclerc reflects on a “positive Friday”
FP1 saw Leclerc top the timesheet with quick laps on both the medium and soft tyres. However, FP2 proved more difficult with a lock-up that nearly left him in the wall and a suspected hydraulic issue, which brought out a red flag and ended the session. Despite this, the Monegasque driver finished third.
Reflecting on both sessions, Leclerc said, “Yeah, I think, honestly, we are not in a bad place. But we need to wait and see. I think Mercedes is very strong. And, yeah, obviously McLaren and Red Bull are also in the fight, so it’s going to be, I think, it’s going to be tight. I just hope we can be out from now and, yeah, be in the fight for pole tomorrow. But it’s been a positive Friday. I think the pace was strong today.”
When asked about possible overnight car changes and preparation for FP3 and qualifying, Leclerc explained, “It’s all about trying to anticipate what the conditions of tomorrow will be like. And make sure that we start on the right foot tomorrow. But I have pretty clear ideas of what I want to do with the car to try and improve it. And we will see tomorrow if these were the right choices.”
Hamilton: “I’m happy with the car” as Ferrari look fast at F1 Las Vegas GP
Lewis Hamilton struggled to find a consistent pace in FP1, despite topping the times at one stage, before finishing 11th. While in FP2, he also briefly set the fastest time but dropped to 10th after constant yellow and red flag interruptions, ultimately not having a chance to complete a lap on the soft tyres.
Hamilton reflects: “It felt pretty decent. Yeah, I had a good P1. Generally felt good, I just didn’t get a lap in. And then same thing in P2. We improved the car in P2, and I was, you know, finished strong in sector 1, same as I was in P1. But yellow flags and the red flag just got in the way, unfortunately. But everyone is in the same boat, but I got some good learnings out there, and I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Friday’s sessions featured a slippery track due to earlier wet weather. Hamilton noted that these conditions made the sessions trickier: “It was very slippery. Yeah, very, very slippery. But the track ramped up quite quick. And hope it’s dry tomorrow, we’ll see. Obviously very, very cold. But we got a good crowd here. I should’ve done some water bottles for this. Hot water bottles for people,” he jokes before concluding that overnight car changes are not necessary. “But yeah, I’m excited to… probably won’t make many changes tonight, cause I’m happy with the car.”
