The neon lights of Las Vegas welcomed F1 back for another night race spectacular, delivering contrasting fortunes for the championship contenders. From Charles Leclerc’s FP1 dominance to Lando Norris’s FP2 resurgence amid red flag chaos, day one showcased the unpredictable nature of this high-speed street circuit. What unfolded during the opening practice sessions? Stay tuned with Supercars.com.GH to find out!
FP1
Charles Leclerc set the early pace by topping FP1 with a 1:34.802, finishing 0.166s ahead of Alex Albon’s impressive Williams as championship rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggled badly in sixth and seventh respectively. The Ferrari driver’s dominance came amid challenging cold temperatures and a dirty track surface.
Alex Albon produced an eye-catching performance to claim second for Williams despite a massive lock-up into Turn 12’s heavy braking zone at the session’s end. Yuki Tsunoda completed the top three for Red Bull, briefly holding the fastest time with 15 minutes remaining before Leclerc’s final effort.
Norris and Piastri’s struggles highlighted McLaren’s early difficulties, with the championship leader surviving a brush with the wall at Turn 9 and running deep at Turn 12 twice in succession. Piastri also went wide at Turn 7, while both drivers failed to extract pace from their MCL39s on the challenging low-downforce circuit.
Max Verstappen finished fourth after a close battle with Leclerc throughout the session, the Red Bull driver coming within 0.004s of the Ferrari before ultimately settling for 0.307s behind. Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five for Williams in another strong showing for the Grove team.
FP2
Norris bounced back brilliantly by topping FP2 with a 1:33.602, though the session was heavily disrupted by two red flags that left many drivers unable to complete final qualifying simulations. The championship leader finished just 0.029s ahead of Kimi Antonelli’s impressive Mercedes.
Light rain between sessions dampened the track, creating tricky conditions that Ollie Bearman described as “slippery” over the radio. Lap times were initially several seconds slower than FP1 before the track dried and times tumbled rapidly.
Charles Leclerc’s session ended in frustration when a gearbox issue forced him to pull off track with just over five minutes remaining, triggering the second red flag. The Ferrari driver had been running third on medium tires but was told not to shift by his engineer, highlighting the severity of the problem.
The first red flag came with just over 20 minutes remaining for track maintenance, causing significant disruption. When the session resumed with only five minutes left, drivers rushed out for final flying laps before Leclerc’s stoppage ended proceedings prematurely.
Piastri finished a distant 14th, unable to register a lap on soft tires due to the red flag interruptions, marking another concerning session for the championship challenger.
Can Norris maintain his FP2 momentum heading into Saturday’s crucial qualifying? Join Supercars.com.GH tomorrow to find out!