Formula 1 | Las Vegas, EL2: Hamilton continues, Red Bull hides its game

After a first session dominated by the Mercedes F1 drivers, the Las Vegas Grand Prix continued with EL2, contested at 10 p.m. local time in Las Vegas, or 7 a.m. in France.

And with these times, the second part of November is tough in the Nevada desert. The pilots thus experienced an air temperature of 10 degrees, and asphalt only slightly warmer, at 13 degrees.

George Russell complained about the cold air coming into his helmet, and Sergio Pérez asked for a helmet with fewer vents on his second run, because his head was also cold.

Russell set the first benchmark in 1'36″482, ahead of Oscar Piastri in 1'36″779. Lewis Hamilton did better in 1'35″805, before Lando Norris beat this benchmark in 1'35″406.

Russell then made the powder speak with two successive best times, 1'34″979 then 1'34″657. But Charles Leclerc entered the dance with two times too, a 1'34″605 then a 1'34″476.

Max Verstappen missed a corner, continuing to not be completely comfortable behind the wheel of his RB20. Russell put on the soft tires and logically improved his best time, setting a 1'34″015 in the process.

Hamilton took second place, two tenths behind his teammate, before Carlos Sainz did better and was 0.090 behind the best time. Pierre Gasly was hampered by Oscar Piastri's McLaren.

Norris took the lead on soft tires with a time of 1'33″836, the best of the day and the first under minute 34. The yellow flag was waved for a minor exit from the track by Guanyu Zhou. Hamilton beat Norris' time in 1'33″825.

Right after, with less than 25 minutes remaining, the red flag was shown, as Alex Albon was forced to stop on track. The Williams driver did not drive at the start of the session due to a fuel system problem, and his FW46 suffered damage, forcing race management to stop the session.

The end of the session was calm and studious as the drivers focused on the long stints in preparation for the race which will take place on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. French time. One or two minor off-track events barely bothered him.

It is therefore Hamilton who sets the best time in these EL2s, and he remains undefeated during this first day. He is ahead of Norris and Russell, then the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. Pierre Gasly is sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen, confirming the duel between Alpine and Haas for sixth place in the championship.

Piastri follows in eighth place ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas, who will have 5 penalty places on the grid. Esteban Ocon is 12th ahead of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, then Liam Lawson and Guanyu Zhou.

Max Verstappen is only 17th, ahead of Franco Colapinto, Sergio Pérez and Albon. However, the Red Bulls did not use the soft tires during this session, and it is therefore impossible to know where the team is located in the hierarchy.