Uncertainty ahead of F1 Las Vegas GP classification

George Russell (Mercedes) leads the time table of the third free practice session of the Las Vegas GP, winning by 0″398 over Oscar Piastri (McLaren, 2nd) and Logan Sargeant (Williams, 3rd)with the Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in fourth position, half a second behind and ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull) in fifth at 0″613. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was 7th at 0″695 and Hamilton was 8th at 0″760. However, for classification, forget about this table of results. Anything can happen, as seen in FP3. It is clear that in a full lap, with little grip and with turn 12 where over braking means going on the run or the wall, mistakes are compensated.

He made it clear Verstappen, who in his last attempt improves by more than two tenths on his first sector. But he reached turn 12, and when he saw he was going to hit the wall, he turned to take the asphalt escape. So he was left without his last chance, leaving F1 fans eager to discover the speed more representative of the champion on this new track before today’s qualifying (9:00 am).

Ferrari couldn’t show itself but on to the pole

Also, what was seen in Free Practice 3 serves as a good warning for everyone. Alex Albon He crashed his left rear tire into the wall and ended up losing it, thus generating a red flag where the session was stopped. This is an example of mistakes that can be seen in the last moments of Q1, Q2 and Q3, and how much they’ll affect drivers who haven’t turned before those failures arrive. In Las Vegas, like it’s raining, perhaps one of the keys is to ensure a good first chance in case traffic or a yellow flag leaves you without a second chance. The two Ferraris knew this very well, as they waited until the end of FP3 to put on the soft tyres, which in the incident of Albon They were left with no time on the soft rubber.

That explains it Leclerc was 16th at 1″815, and Sainz was 17th at 1″846. But the Ferrari They should be in the battle for first position against Max Verstappen. For the pole, he can do it Leclercbecause Sainz, despite finishing first, accrues 10 penalty spots for changing the battery by destroying it with a culvert from Free Practice 1.

So, some Ferrari With such a good feeling, they went so far in this session, it shows how unrepresentative the final result of Free Practice 3 was on a track that will continue to improve greatly throughout qualifying. Whoever sets the final time will scratch off a tenth on a track that gains grip as more rubber is deposited.

Alonso, good feelings

Fernando Alonso was 7th at 0″695 and again left a great feeling. The times were easy again and the Spaniard was again comfortable in the green car, always ahead when he set his times. However, in such an even grid and in a classification where the evolution of the track will be very important and the last to set the time to do it in the best possible asphalt conditions, setting the target position for the man from Oviedo is very complicated.

Verstappen and Ferrari should be in Q3, Mercedes is fast and Williams It also looks like a lap against the green cars. Qualifying can be Russian roulette under the spotlight. Sinful city.