Lewis Hamilton recovered from his nightmare race weekend in Brazil to complete an impressive practice double at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Having said he wanted to quit Mercedes in the aftermath of his disappointing 10th-placed finish in Interlagos a fortnight ago, Hamilton first saw off his teammate, George Russell, by 0.396 seconds in the opening running on the Strip, and then McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.011sec later in the day, to head both sessions.
Norris must take at least three points out of Max Verstappen’s 62-point championship lead to extend the title battle to the penultimate race in Qatar. Verstappen was an alarming 17th in second practice, two seconds off Hamilton’s pace. Carlos Sainz finished fourth for Ferrari, one place ahead of his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton, who is joining Ferrari next season, admitted here that he had been prepared to cut short his 12-year Mercedes career, which has yielded six of his record-equalling seven world titles, after a torrid afternoon at the rain-lashed Brazilian Grand Prix.
Wolff backs drivers over FIA stand-off
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The Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed Formula One drivers in what increasingly appears to be a stand-off with the FIA and insisted the sport’s governing body has a duty to act responsibly and address their concerns for the good of the sport going forward.
Before this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, George Russell, confirmed that they had still received no response from the FIA after they issued a public statement calling for dialogue over their complaints they were being treated like children and calls for financial transparency. On Wednesday Russell said he was surprised the FIA had still not responded and that drivers were increasingly fed up with the governing body.
Wolff was unequivocal that the FIA needed to engage and that exchanging viewpoints via the media was not acceptable. “All stakeholders that are in decision making position need to remind ourselves that we carry responsibility for this sport and we need stability,” he said.
“It’s important that we who have a voice handle it with the same carefulness, because we have had a fight over the media in the last few years. I don’t think we should be throwing stuff at each other that way. Being in a room and saying this is what we think would be best for the sport, what is that beyond a personality or a team and I think this is where the drivers came from.”
The FIA has still yet to make any comment on the GPDA statement or the recent drivers’ reaction to their lack of a response. Giles Richards in Las Vegas
“We all know that Lewis wears his heart on the sleeve,” said the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, between practice sessions on Thursday. “It was such a bad experience for him, that whole race weekend in Brazil, and particularly the Sunday, he said something that wasn’t, in a way, unusual.”
Hamilton ended a two-and-a-half-year winless streak at the British Grand Prix in July, but he is seventh in the world championship, 203 points behind Verstappen and a place and two points back from Russell.
But the 39-year-old rolled back the years in Sin City’s cold desert air, which appeared to play to Mercedes’ strengths.
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a successful practice at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
“I am feeling pretty good,” said Hamilton. “That is the first time I have had a day like that this year. The car was feeling really good in P1 and in P2 less so. We have work to do overnight. It is difficult to know exactly where we are and why we are where we are but I am really enjoying driving the track. We will see whether the car is still the same tomorrow. As I said heading into this weekend, I know it is not my driving.”
Verstappen will claim his fourth consecutive title if he outscores Norris on Saturday. But the Dutch driver finished fifth in the opening running, and then ended the day way down the order as he struggled with the handling of his unruly Red Bull machine.
Last year’s opening session was delayed by a loose drain cover that ripped through Sainz’s Ferrari. The Spaniard was lucky to be unharmed as the track was repaired and the action finished at 4am in front of empty grandstands. On Thursday there was no such blemish as both sessions ran smoothly.
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