F1 RESULTS TODAY: Mercedes Hamilton DOMINATES & ROARS back at CHAOTIC Las Vegas Practiceb as …Read more
“Mercedes Dominates Chaotic Las Vegas Practice as Hamilton Tops the Timing Sheets”
Formula 1 action resumed on the famous Las Vegas strip on Friday morning (Thursday night local time), with drivers taking to a treacherous track in what was a chaotic start to the race weekend. The first practice session of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix was marked by difficult conditions, as many drivers struggled to keep their cars on track due to the cold and dusty surface, but fortunately, no one made contact with the barriers surrounding the circuit.
The session, which took place under the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, saw several drivers venturing into the run-off areas while attempting to clean up the worst of the dust on the street circuit. While the tricky surface challenged many, it was Mercedes that emerged dominant, with Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time of the session.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, delivered an impressive performance with a lap time of 1:35.001. His teammate, George Russell, also showed strong pace, finishing just under four-tenths of a second behind Hamilton, securing second place on the timing sheets. The Mercedes duo was significantly ahead of the rest of the field, with the gap between Hamilton and third-placed Lando Norris being almost a full second.
Norris, representing McLaren, was the third fastest in FP1, continuing his strong form as he competes with Ferrari and Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen could only manage the fifth quickest time. The Red Bull driver, who currently leads the 2024 drivers’ championship, was over a second slower than Hamilton’s best time. Verstappen has already secured the title, but the fight for Constructors’ Championship positions remains intense, with Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull all battling for the remaining points.
Behind Verstappen, Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari took sixth place, followed by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin in seventh. Oscar Piastri, Norris’s teammate at McLaren, continued his solid rookie campaign by placing eighth, just ahead of Pierre Gasly in ninth for Alpine. Rounding out the top ten was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who has had a challenging season compared to his teammate Verstappen.
The session also saw varied performances from other teams. Kevin Magnussen in the Haas car finished 11th, narrowly ahead of Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin. Williams driver Alex Albon, who has shown glimpses of strong form throughout the season, ended the session in 13th place. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 14th, followed by Nico Hulkenberg in the second Haas car.
Further down the field, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu struggled for pace in their Kick Sauber cars, finishing 16th and 18th, respectively. Franco Colapinto, driving the second Williams, placed 17th, while the VCARB duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson had a tough session, placing 19th and 20th.
Despite the challenging track conditions, the drivers managed to avoid significant incidents in this opening session. As the weekend progresses, teams will be looking to gather more data and improve their setups for the races to come.
FP2 is scheduled for later today, providing drivers another chance to fine-tune their cars on this unique circuit. The session is expected to begin at 6am GMT, giving the championship contenders another opportunity to get to grips with the challenging track conditions. Max Verstappen, though already crowned the 2024 world champion, will aim to improve his form ahead of Sunday’s race, while Hamilton, Russell, and the rest of the field will look to make their mark in this exciting Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.
F1 FP1 Results: Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
1. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] – 1:35.001sec
2. George Russell [Mercedes] – +0.396sec
3. Lando Norris [McLaren] – +0.953sec
4. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] – +1.006sec
5. Max Vers
tappen [Red Bull] – +1.037sec
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