George Russell completed a Mercedes practice clean sweep in the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix after topping the timesheets in FP3.
Russell’s best effort of 1:33.570s was set just before a red flag, meaning he couldn’t be bettered in the six minutes left after his chart-topping time was set.
This followed Lewis Hamilton topping FP1 and FP2 respectively.
READ MORE – F1 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix – FP3 Results
There was little action in the opening minutes of the third and final practice session as teams waited for temperatures to drop closer to the super cool conditions expected for qualifying.
Meanwhile, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was waiting in the garage with his mechanics inspecting his car’s front left brake hub.
Red Bull had a troubling opening day at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and things looked even worse in FP3.
“It’s only getting worse, the thing is undrivable,” Verstappen explained over team radio, with the Dutchman locking up several times.
“This is… I can’t drive it, I’m going to crash.
“My left front is completely f****.”
A soft tyre run with 10 minutes remaining would show just how much work Red Bull would need and Verstappen put his car in a provisional first place, displacing the two Mercedes drivers who were looking to carry their form from day one.
“Grip felt miles better,” Verstappen said after his low-fuel soft tyre blast.
But the track was ramping up, lap by lap, minute by minute.
As the likes of Sainz and Russell went to the top of the timesheets, the red flag came out with six minutes remaining.
Lance Stroll was the cause as his Aston Martin AMR24 came to a halt on the back straight.
There was no time for anyone to better Russell’s time once the red flag was cleared, setting the Briton up well for qualifying.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz ultimately wound up best of the rest with three and a half-tenths separating the top three.
Lando Norris took fourth with Verstappen rounding out the top five.
Hamilton could only take sixth as the red flag prevented him from topping all three practice sessions, with the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto following the seven-time champion in the order.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Pierre gasly completed the top-10.
Magnussen’s Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg finished just outside of the top-10 in 11th, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc a lowly 12th.
Sergio Perez was 13th in the second Red Bull with his troubles continuing in Las Vegas with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 14th.
Aston Martin had a poor session, with Fernando Alonso 15th and Stroll 19th after his late stoppage.
RB also looked off of the pace with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson in 16th and 18th respectively.
That left Sauber in its usual lowly position in the order with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu 17th and 20th in the order.
READ MORE – George Russell denies Mercedes blip a concern for 2025 F1 car
