Quebecer Lance Stroll achieved eighth time in the only free practice session that could be completed on the night from Thursday to Friday at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas.
In fact, a problem with the manhole cover forced the organizers to end the first session after just ten minutes, but this did not prevent Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) from making a 1-minute pass with 40.909 seconds.
When he returned to the track, the Monegasque dominated again, this time with a lap time of 1:35.265, 0.517 seconds faster than his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. Stroll, for his part, set a time of 1:36.496, while the other leader of the Aston Martin Team veteran Fernando Alonso took third place with a time of 1:35.793.
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There is therefore optimism for the qualifying and the race, which will take place on the night from Saturday to Sunday. “It’s a fun and fast track, it’s very nice to be in Vegas,” the driver from La Belle Province admitted on his team’s website. Colder temperatures present a certain challenge as the tires need to be adjusted accordingly. We’ll see what happens tomorrow [samedi].”
“The peloton is tight, but I think we were very competitive today,” he also reflected.
Alonso’s analysis is similar and assumes spots on the Strip will be fiercely contested.
“The circuit is really interesting with different chicanes and long straights,” he said. The tires lose some heat in the evening, so this needs to be monitored in areas of sudden braking. It could be a fun event with several overtaking opportunities.”
Las Vegas is hosting Formula 1 for the first time since 1982. Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is aiming for his 18th victory this season.