A surprising outcome on the opening day in Las Vegas; during the first free practice sessions, it was Lewis Hamilton who clocked the fastest time twice. Teammate George Russell was hot on his heels. The latter admits that Mercedes has no idea where this sudden speed comes from. Meanwhile, team boss Toto Wolff calls the team ‘champion on a dirty track’.
In the first free practice, Lewis Hamilton already led a one-two for Mercedes. During the second practice, the seven-time world champion again clocked the fastest time, with Lando Norris in second place. George Russell was content with the third time in this session. Afterwards, he admitted that no one within the team understands where these impressive performances come from.
“It was a great day,” Russell told the media in Las Vegas. “I’d love to tell you why we’re suddenly so fast, but to be honest, we’re baffled. Of course, it was just a practice in the end, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Lewis (Hamilton) did a great job. From the first lap, he was on top of it, and the car also cooperated well.
‘Champion on a Dirty Track’
Russell emphasized that Mercedes thrives on the street circuit, particularly because the track is very ‘dirty’ in the initial laps. “It’s really filthy,” said the Brit. “But that also makes the asphalt faster with each lap. That doesn’t mean we’ll be fast again tomorrow. Nevertheless, we are pleasantly surprised.” George Russell further indicated that he is ‘not afraid’ that Mercedes will lose speed as the weekend progresses. “Our competitors can only get better,” he explained. “There’s a good chance a bit of sandbagging has taken place, although the gap on Thursday was very large.”
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff crowned his team as the ‘champion on a dirty track’ after the first day in Las Vegas. However, he remains cautious in the run-up to the qualification and the race. “No matter how well the free practices go, the performances always seem to deteriorate as the weekend progresses. That being said, I think the gap to the competition is now very large. I sincerely hope we don’t fall behind as we have done on certain circuits in the past. We want to remain competitive and fight at the forefront.”
