Hamilton and Mercedes surprised at the start in Las Vegas, but Verstappen had a bad start

He F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024

It all started with an unexpected message of power from Mercedes. Missing in the fight for victory in the latest competitions, with McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull The city of gambling, the Mecca of entertainment and sin, was approaching ahead, and the star team seemed like a different team. Lewis Hamilton He led both sessions this Friday (Thursday night in Las Vegas), although in the second free practice Lando Norris was only 11 thousandths behind.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Fabio Marchi

It’s all about the track conditions, which are very specific in this case. Main prize due to low temperatures. The asphalt temperature was only 11 degrees, and by the end of the session it was 13 degrees. So on an icy track with very little grip and a muddy track Mercedes They felt more comfortable than the others and much better than in more normal conditions, and this was noticeable from the very beginning. They made a double in FP1 with Hamilton and Russell ahead and in the second FP confirmed their bet on the largest gaming table in the capital Snowfallthis is asphalt.

In Free Mode 2, Hamilton was in the lead and Russell was third at 0:190. It was clear that the people of Brackley should join the group, which in previous Grand Prix had been reserved only for McLaren, Ferrari and Verstappen.

Toto Wolf finished with a satisfied face, although the second position Lando Norris, only 11 thousandths Hamilton with his McLaren theoretically more fueled, should also serve as a warning to everyone. The Englishman’s orange car started well and is a clear contender for pole position. And that leaves the question of Ferrari.

Sainz, 4th

The Italians turned out to be the favorites in this matter. Las Vegas Grand Prix due to the nature of the track, its straights and types of corners, and also because it is an urban track. However, low temperatures were a concern. Ferrari are a team that takes better care of their tyres, but such low temperatures work against them as they find it more difficult to maintain the correct tire temperature for one lap before the time trial. In such a dense field, starting from the top is crucial for victory.

So yes Sainz and Leclerc If they want to win, they will have to go through at least the first two rows of the grid, and so far Carlos Sainz has started them in 4th position, with 0:280, and Charles Leclerc on 0.488. It will be necessary to see if those in red can figure out how to warm up the tires for Saturday’s classification, the team’s weak point throughout the race, even in the warmer classifications.

Gasly finished behind Ferrari in his Alpine (6th place) and Magnussen in 7th place. Piastri, Hulkenberg and Tsunoda round out the top 10.

What about Verstappen?

Max Verstappen has its first version of the name in Vegasbut for the moment his start was not good at all. The Dutchman finished 5th in FP1, but finished very far in the second free practice, in 17th place, a head 2 seconds behind his teammate. Perez in 19th place. Poor start for Red Bull on a very delicate track where the tires are expected to suffer a lot in the race. Will Norris be able to extend Max’s wait at least until Qatar? Max will have to improve a lot, as he usually does on Saturdays, in order to prevent Landau continue with minimal options after the American tournament.

Alonso, 14th

Fernando Alonso He started in 7th place in Free Practice 1, but dropped to 14th place in Free Practice 2. Aston Martin He made changes to the car between sessions and in the second practice the Asturian complained about rebound in his car and demanded another change to his Aston Martin’s settings. The Spaniard finished with a big lead, 1.615 behind the leader, and his car will have to improve this Saturday if he is to fight for Q3.