7-time F1 champion leads way in Las Vegas practices — RESULTS, PHOTOS

All the manhole covers were sealed when the Formula One cars hit the Strip for the first practice session of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday night.

A year after the first practice abruptly ended when Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a manhole cover, delaying practice for several hours, Thursday’s first session went off without a hitch.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes posted the fastest time right at the end of the hour-long session with a lap of 1 minute, 35.001 seconds, around the 17-turn, 3.8-mile course. Hamilton then backed up his run in the second practice session later Friday with a faster time of 1:33.825.

Drivers weren’t made available to the media after practice.

“I’m still here, still fighting, and I’m going to continue to push,” Hamilton, who will drive for Ferrari next year, told F1 TV on Wednesday. “I want to make sure I give (Mercedes) the best I can in the next races. If they provide a car that wants to stay on track, then hopefully we’ll have a better result.”

In the first practice session, George Russell, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, was second with a lap time of 1:35.397. While the top of the leaderboard shifted throughout the session, Hamilton and Russell were at the top for most of the opening practice.

In the second practice session, Lando Norris of McLaren was second with a time of 1:33.836, and Russell was third (1:34.015). Three-time reigning F1 champion and defending race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull was 17th (1:35.834) after finishing fifth (1:36.038) in the first session.

The final practice is at 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by qualifying at 10 p.m. The race is at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said there have been plenty of moments when his cars are the fastest in the first practice and fall off, but he is hopeful that Hamilton and Russell won’t regress.

“The gap was pretty big. It’s the biggest that we’ve seen so far in free practice one,” Wolff said in a post-practice news conference Thursday. “I don’t believe this kind of advantage to the other teams is going to last. I would very much hope that we’re not falling behind like we’ve did in the past on some of the tracks, but remain competitive to fight at the front.”

‘Have good hopes’

Norris, who is 62 points behind Verstappen in the point standings, was third with a time of 1:35.954 in the first practice. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth (1:36.007).

Verstappen is hoping for a repeat of last year’s race, when he won the inaugural event, and F1’s most recent race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 3.

“I knew (Brazil) was going to be a tough race, but the end result of course was very good,” Verstappen said Wednesday. “It looks a bit better now in the championship, but we’ll see this weekend. We have good hopes to be competitive, but I don’t know.”

Norris will need to finish ahead of Verstappen in Las Vegas to keep his slim hopes at the title alive. Verstappen can clinch the title with a win Saturday or if he leaves the race with at least a 60-point lead over Norris.

Drivers spoke with the media late Wednesday as they arrived at the track for the second edition of the race. With most drivers in the field familiar with the course, they had an idea of what to expect to get their car right for the race.

“I do really know what to expect as a racing track,” Alpine driver Esteban Ocon said Wednesday. “Being able to race and overtake (pass), I think it provided really interesting challenges. To race on it, it’s really fun.”

There weren’t as many prerace festivities that drivers participated in the week leading up to the race, but drivers expect the energy around the race to amplify as the week goes on.

“It definitely feels strange this grand prix, just racing at night,” Russell said Wednesday. “The atmosphere builds up during the course of the weekend, so let’s see.”

New race director

This year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the first for a few drivers. And for race director Rui Marques.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced after Brazil that race director Niels Wittich was removed from his position. A statement from the FIA said that Wittich “stepped down” but he told motorsport-magazin.com, a German publication, that he “did not resign.”

The F1 race director is responsible for race operations and oversees all matters related to the race. The race director also works with stewards during an event to levy any penalties on drivers.

The move comes after the Grand Prix Drivers Association released a statement Nov. 7 on social media regarding the FIA’s policing and fines of drivers swearing during interviews.

“There is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing,” the statement read.

Wittich was removed from his position Nov. 12, much to the shock of drivers.

“We definitely weren’t aware, a bit of a surprise for everybody,” Russell, who serves as a chairman for the Grand Prix Drivers Association, said Wednesday. “Often as drivers, we probably feel that we’re the last to find out this sort of information, and it involves us directly.

Russell said the drivers were “not happy” with some of the decisions Wittich and the FIA made this season. He said he hopes this is the beginning of more dialogue between the drivers and FIA.

“Sometimes just hiring and firing is not the solution,” Russell said. “You need to work together to improve the problem, so let’s see what this new sort of era is going to bring.”

Practice 1 results

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:35.001

2. George Russell (Mercedes), 1:35.397 (+0.396 seconds)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren), 1:35.954 (+0.953)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1:36.007 (+1.006)

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 1:36.038 (+1.037)

6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 1:36.218 (+1.217)

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 1:36.262 (+1.261)

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 1:36.451 (+1.450)

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 1:36.478 (+1.477)

10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 1:36.536 (+1.535)

11. Kevin Magnuessen (Haas), 1:36.811 (+1.810)

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 1:36, 817 (+1.816)

13. Alex Albon (Williams), 1:36.948 (+1.947)

14. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 1:37.152 (+2.151)

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), 1:37.200 (+2.199)

16. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), 1:37.765 (+2.764)

17. Franco Colapinto (Williams), 1:38.025 (+3.024)

18. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber), 1:38.350 (+3.349)

19. Yuki Tsunoda (RB), 1:38.574 (+3.573)

20. Liam Lawson (RB), 1:38.730 (+3.729)

Practice 2 results

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:33.825

2. Lando Norris (McLaren), 1:33.836 (+0.011 seconds)

3. George Russell (Mercedes), 1:34.015 (+0.190)

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 1:34.105 (+0.280)

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1:34.313 (+0.488)

6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 1:34.651 (+0.826)

7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 1:34.686 (0.861)

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 1:34.798 (+0.973)

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), 1:34.818 (+0.993)

10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB), 1:34.997 (+1.172)

11. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), 1:35.020 (+1.195)

12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 1:35.221 (+1.396)

13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 1:35.221 (+1.426)

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 1:35.440 (+1.615)

15. Liam Lawson (RB), 1:35.671 (+1.846)

16. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber), 1:35.765 (+1.940)

17. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 1:35.834 (+2.009)

18. Franco Colapinto (Williams), 1:35.868 (+2.043)

19. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 1:36.055 (+2.230)

20. Alex Albon (Williams), 1:39.629 (+5.804)

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.