#F1 #LasVegasGP FP2: @LewisHamilton quickest ahead of @LandoNorris by 0.011s.

Hamilton Las Vegas FP2 – Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton ended the first day of running as he started it, on top of the time-sheets in the FP2 session at the Las Vegas GP ahead of title contender Lando Norris who placed second for McLaren as George Russell completed the top three in the other F1 W15 entry. Championship leader Max Verstappen was a low-17^th for Red Bull running the C4 medium tyre.

Hamilton posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:33.825 on the C5 red side-walled softer compound and was a slim 0.011 seconds in-front of Norris as Russell was a further 0.190 seconds adrift in third.

The seven-time world champion Hamilton set his effort before the red flag called for the stranded Williams of Alexander Albon, who struggled throughout with a fuel systems issue.

Versus the low-grip conditions in opening practice, it took less time for the drivers to get up to speed on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit; Hamilton got within a second of his FP1 time-topping best on his opening stint on the C4 yellow-marked mediums, although this was beaten by McLaren’s Norris who hit a 1:35.406.

Mercedes’ Russell was first to go quickest than the FP1 effort whilst still on the mediums; the Silver Arrows driver posted a 1:34.979 as the new time-topper, which Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ousted by almost 0.4 seconds.

The Monegasque driver then set a 1:34.476 to display further track evolution, ending the proceedings earlier stints on the medium rubber.

Russell then began the qualifying simulation runs with the softer compounds and clocked a 1:34.015 to go top of the pile, a time which was two-tenths clear of Hamilton’s first benchmark – and the two Britons were then split by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the classification.

Norris went quicker and brought the times under the 1:34 bracket – posting a 1:33.836  to put McLaren’s name into the contender for the weekend list, although Hamilton jumped ahead by 0.011 seconds.

The C5 stints were put on hold when a red flag was waved for Albon; the Thai-Briton driver was stuck in the pits for most of the session with a fuel systems issue, and when he emerged on track, he managed only several tours before his FW46 came to a stop.

After the green flag was waved for the running to resume, majority chose to focus on their long race data runs on the mediums – and there was no further changes in the classification.

Norris split the Mercedes pairing as Russell sat in third.

Sainz was the lead SF-24 in fourth as team-mate Leclerc followed in fifth.

BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Pierre Gasly was an impressive sixth as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen highlighted the American team’s strong pace with seventh overall in the classification.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was eighth as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.

Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas finished FP2 outside the top ten in 11^th place and in-front of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who took 12^th in the classification.

Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso ended the day 13^th and 14^th respectively as RB’s Liam Lawson and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu followed in 15^th and 16^th.

Red Bull pairing Verstappen and Sergio Perez were 17^th and 19^th respectively as both did not do a soft tyre run amid the red flag whilst Williams’ Franco Colapinto split the duo in 18^th and the other FW46 entry of the aforementioned Albon finished at the rear.

You can see the full Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024 Free Practice 2 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1250/las-vegas/practice/2

#F1 #LasVegasGP FP1: @LewisHamilton pips team-mate @GeorgeRussell63 by 0.396s.

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