Max Verstappen says his Red Bull feels like “driving on ice” as he was left a long way off the pace on Friday at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen finished second practice down in 17th as he did not complete a lap on the soft tyres unlike the other front-running cars, with Lewis Hamilton setting the pace from Lando Norris.
The reigning world champion aborted his first qualifying simulation, and was around eight-tenths behind Hamilton on his next effort after the second sector when a red flag was called for Alex Albon’s stricken Williams.
Verstappen could seal the title in Sunday’s race in Las Vegas at 6am, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, if he finishes ahead of Norris.
“We struggled a lot with making the tyres work over one lap. The long runs started off more competitive but even there we need to finetune a few things but the one-lap pace is far off,” said Verstappen.
“The conditions are the same for everyone. We need to understand what we are doing wrong at the moment.”
Red Bull were down in the speed traps and Helmut Marko revealed the team have the wrong rear wing which has put them on the back foot.
Verstappen thinks the cooler Las Vegas temperatures, which are the coldest of the year at F1 with an air temperature of around 12 degrees Celsius, is a key factor in Red Bull’s lack of pace.
“For me, it feels massively tyre-related. The balance of the car is not even wrong I think,” he said.
“We just have no grip, like driving on ice at the moment.”
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Lewis Hamilton tops both P1 and P2 in Las Vegas, as the problems at Williams continue
Norris: High fuel run was ‘shocking’
Norris was just 0.011s behind Hamilton in second practice on a weekend he’s hoping to keep his title hopes alive.
McLaren have had strong race pace at most events since the Miami Grand Prix in May but Norris is concerned about his performance with more fuel in the car on Friday.
“It was so-so. I think the low-fuel stuff has been ok. The high fuel I was shocking, so plenty of things to look into,” said Norris.
“These kind of combinations of things and what we struggle with the front graining and stuff, I’m just not very good at it. It’s always a bit of a struggle for me.
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Lando Norris admitted he struggled to run the car with higher fuel during practice, despite coming second in FP2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix
“A good amount of time to work on it. Two halves really. Good low fuel and difficult high fuel.”
Norris crashed out at high speed in last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was one of McLaren’s weaker circuits in 2023.
The British driver also backed up Verstappen’s comments about the low grip.
“It’s just very difficult, super low grip. I feel like I could drive a road car quicker than we drive at the minute. Mixed feelings,” he said.
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Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz explains why the drivers are struggling to enter the pit lane at the Las Vegas GP
What about Ferrari?
Ferrari were expected to be strong in Las Vegas after Charles Leclerc was close to the win last year and, on paper, the characteristics of the track layout suit their car with long straights and plenty of key traction zones.
With just three races to go, Ferrari need to make inroads on McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship to whittle down their 36-point deficit.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were both in the top five in second practice but had the car to beat on the long runs.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff poked fun at Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur over Lewis Hamilton being denied an early Ferrari test due to his Mercedes contract
“What we expected happened. We are struggling a bit with tyre temperature. Mercedes look strong, they have been aggressive with tyres all year,” said Leclerc.
“We need to find something to turn the situation around but we are not so far off. We are very strong in race pace, a bit less strong in qualifying, which is the story of our season.
“I just hope overtaking is as easy as last year. If it is, it is better to be in our position.”
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Sky Sports’ David Croft puts F1 fans on the Las Vegas strip to the test
Sainz thinks apart from the dramatic 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, he has not raced on such a low-grip track in F1.
“Everyone’s in the same boat. It’s a fine line between having the tyres ready or not ready,” he added.
“We are in the mix. Maybe we are not performing as strong as everyone thinks, so we have some homework to do.
“Over one lap we seem to have some work to do but the race pace is OK.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Las Vegas GP schedule
Saturday November 23
2.15am: Las Vegas GP Practice Three*
5am: Las Vegas GP Qualifying build-up*
6am: LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
8am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday November 24
4.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up*
6am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX*
8am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction*
9am: Ted’s Notebook*
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1 where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Stream the final three F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime