“I said it wasn’t my driving!” Hamilton rallies to top Las Vegas F1 GP practice | Formula 1

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

Having said he wanted to leave Mercedes in the wake of his disappointing 10th at Interlagos a fortnight ago, Hamilton first saw off team-mate George Russell by 0.396 seconds in the opener at the Strip, then McLaren’s Lando Norris with 0.011 sec later in the day, to lead both sessions.

Norris must take at least three points off Max Verstappen’s 62-point championship lead to extend the title race to the penultimate race in Qatar. Verstappen was an alarming 17th in second practice, 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 had been prepared to cut short his 12-year Mercedes career, which has produced six of his record-like seven world championships, after a blistering afternoon at the rain-lashed Brazilian Grand. Price.

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Wolff backs drivers over FIA stand-off

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed Formula One drivers in what increasingly appears to be a stand-off with the FIA, insisting the sport’s governing body has a duty to act responsibly and address their concerns to benefit for the sport in the future.

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

Wolff was unequivocal that the FIA ​​needed to get involved and that exchanging views via the media was not acceptable. “All stakeholders who are in decision-making position must remind ourselves that we bear the responsibility of this sport and we need stability,” he said.

“It is important that we, who have a voice, handle it with the same caution, because we have had a fight about the media in the last few years. I don’t think we should throw things at each other like that. To be in a room and say this is what we think would be best for the sport, what is it beyond a personality or a team, and I think that’s where the drivers came from.”

The FIA ​​has yet to comment on the GPDA statement or the recent drivers’ reaction to their lack of response. Giles Richards in Las Vegas

Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA

“We all know Lewis wears his heart on his sleeve,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said between practice sessions on Thursday. “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 run at the British Grand Prix in July, but he is 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 Sin City’s cold desert air, which seemed to play to Mercedes’ strengths.

“I feel pretty good,” Hamilton said. “It is the first time I have had such a day this year. The car felt really good in P1 and less so in P2. We have work to do overnight. 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 will see if the car is still the same tomorrow. As I said heading into this weekend, I know it’s not my drive.”

Verstappen will claim his fourth straight title if he overtakes Norris on Saturday. But the Dutch driver finished fifth in the opening race, then ended the day well down the order as he struggled with the handling of 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 04.00 in front of empty stands. On Thursday, there were no such glitches as both sessions ran smoothly.