Lewis Hamilton bounced back from his nightmarish race weekend in Brazil to complete an impressive practice double at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

After saying he wanted to leave Mercedes in the wake of his disappointing 10th place at Interlagos a fortnight ago, Hamilton first beat his teammate, George Russell, by 0.396 seconds in the opening strip on the Strip, and then beat McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.011 seconds later in the day, to lead both sessions.

Norris must take at least three points from Max Verstappen’s 62-point lead in the championship to extend the title battle until the penultimate race in Qatar. Verstappen finished an alarming 17th in the second practice session, two seconds off Hamilton’s pace. Carlos Sainz finished fourth for Ferrari, one place ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton, who will join Ferrari next season, admitted here that he was prepared to end his 12-year career with Mercedes, which has produced six of his record-equalling seven world titles, after a torrid afternoon at the rain-affected Grand Prix of Brazil. Price.

Short manual

Wolff supports drivers due to the impasse in the FIA

Show

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has backed Formula 1 drivers in what increasingly appears to be a standoff with the FIA, stressing that the sport’s governing body has a duty to act responsibly and show their concerns for the welfare of the sport in the future.

Before this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director George Russell confirmed that they had still not received a response from the FIA ​​after issuing a public statement calling for dialogue about their complaints that they were treated like children and calls for financial transparency. On Wednesday, Russell said he was surprised that the FIA ​​had still not responded and that drivers were increasingly fed up with the governing body.

Wolff was unequivocal that the FIA ​​had to get involved and that exchanging views through the media was not acceptable. “All stakeholders in a decision-making position must remind ourselves that we have the responsibility for this sport and that we need stability,” he said.

“It is important that we, who have a voice, treat it with the same care, because we have had arguments about the media in recent years. I don’t think we should throw things at each other like that. To sit in a room and say that we think this is the best thing for the sport, what is that different from a personality or a team, and I think this is where the drivers come from.”

The FIA ​​has not yet commented on the GPDA statement or the drivers’ recent response to the lack of response. Giles Richards in Las Vegas

Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA

“We all know that Lewis wears his heart on his sleeve,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Thursday between training sessions. “It was such a bad experience for him, that whole race weekend in Brazil, and especially on Sunday, he said something that was not unusual in a way.”

Hamilton ended a two-and-a-half-year winless streak at the British Grand Prix in July, but he sits seventh in the world championship, 203 points behind Verstappen and one place and two points behind Russell.

But the 39-year-old rolled back the years in the cold desert air of Sin City, which seemed to reinforce Mercedes’ strengths.

“I feel pretty good,” Hamilton said. “It’s the first time this year that I’ve had such a day. The car felt very good in P1 and less so in P2. We have work to do tonight. It’s hard to know exactly where we are and why we are where we are, but I really enjoy driving on the track. We’ll see if the car is still the same tomorrow. As I said going into this weekend, I know it’s not my driving style.”

Verstappen claims his fourth title in a row if he scores better than Norris on Saturday. But the Dutch driver finished fifth in the opening race and ended the day far behind, struggling to control his unruly Red Bull machine.

Last year’s opening session was delayed by a loose drain cover that tore through Sainz’s Ferrari. The Spaniard was lucky to be unhurt as the track was repaired and the action ended at 4am in front of empty stands. This was not the case on Thursday, as both sessions went smoothly.