Las Vegas GP: Russell tops tricky FP3 - McLaren drivers suffer issues

Mercedes ‘ George Russell mastered a fickle, drying Las Vegas Strip Circuit to top the third and final practice session ahead of qualifying, edging Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.227s.

With the track evolving rapidly after morning showers, the standings told only part of the story – especially for McLaren, which endured a bruising session at the bottom of the times.

The session began on a surface still damp from overnight rain, marking the first wet running of the weekend. Early tours on intermediate tyres were cautious and revealing: Alex Albon’s slide at Turn 5 underscored grip levels that hovered nearly 10 seconds off the expected dry pace.

• Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results

Lewis Hamilton set the initial benchmark with a 1m42.809s, heading an early Mercedes 1–3 alongside Russell while many drivers chose to wait out the greasy conditions.

Oscar Piastri summed up the dilemma as his intermediates faded: “The tyre is starting to die already but it’d be very nervous on slicks.”

McLaren’s Misfortune

McLaren’s day quickly soured. Piastri suffered a telemetry failure that forced him to pit and park during the key late-session dry window. Lando Norris ventured onto soft tyres first but was instructed to take “zero risk”; a lurid slide and off-track moment at the Sphere convinced the team to bring him back in.

An apparent electrical problem then ended his running altogether. Both drivers, missing the best of the conditions, finished rooted to the foot of the timesheets.

By the halfway point of the running, the track had improved enough for slicks, triggering a cascade of soft-tyre runs. Yuki Tsunoda briefly went fastest before Charles Leclerc dipped into the 1m41s.

As confidence built, Verstappen unleashed a 1m39.156s to reset the pace, igniting a volley of improvements from Leclerc, Hamilton, and the Dutchman himself as the surface rubbered in.

Hamilton survived a scare after a near-collision with Liam Lawson at the Turn 14 braking zone, one of several moments that revealed how patchy the grip remained.

Late Surge from Russell

Inside the final minutes, Verstappen appeared poised to retain P1—until Russell stitched together a clean and committed lap to post 1m34.054s.

Verstappen attempted to respond but ran wide on his last flyer, ceding the top spot to the Mercedes driver.

Albon impressed in third, followed by Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls entry and Hamilton in fifth. Kimi Antonelli completed a strong showing for Mercedes in sixth, with Lawson, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10.

With conditions unlikely to resemble anything seen in FP3, teams head into qualifying facing a strategic unknown – and hoping Las Vegas stays dry long enough to provide clearer answers.

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