Ferrari fast but still work to do after Las Vegas free practice

The new track, marked by low grip and evolving conditions, presented unique challenges, particularly with tyre graining and difficulty in warming tyres amid unusually cold weather. Both Ferrari drivers, Leclerc and Sainz, reported there was work to do before Qualifying.

The day’s earlier Free Practice 1 session saw both drivers acclimatising to the high-speed street layout, with air temperatures at just 14°C and track temperatures falling to 16°C. Leclerc set a best time of 1:36.007, narrowly ahead of Sainz’s 1:36.218, as they ran Medium and Soft tyres before shifting to heavier fuel loads for race simulations.

Between them, they logged a total of 53 laps, gathering valuable data on the circuit's heavy braking zones and demanding layout.

In the later session, held at 10 p.m. local time, Ferrari drivers continued on Medium tyres before switching to Softs for qualifying simulations. Sainz recorded a best lap of 1:34.104, with Leclerc following closely at 1:34.313, hindered slightly by traffic.

Despite the promising pace, Sainz noted that significant work remained ahead of Saturday’s qualifying: “A complicated Thursday here in Vegas due to a challenging track with very low grip, which gave us a strange feeling inside the car. For FP2, we tried something different but are still not satisfied with where we are.

"Hopefully, tonight’s analysis will help us identify the biggest areas for improvement. Race pace wasn’t too bad, but there’s still a lot to do," declared Sainz, who's in his final three races with Ferrari, before his move to Williams for 2025.

A brief red flag interrupted the second session when Alex Albon stopped on track, nevertheless, Ferrari managed to complete 29 laps each.

Despite the progress, Leclerc echoed Sainz’s concerns about tyre performance and overall competitiveness: “It was not a great day for us and it seems to have been tricky for everyone else as well. We are not as strong as we expected to be coming into the weekend.

"With the cold weather conditions, it was difficult to bring the tyres up to temperature, which we knew would be a challenge, so we will work on that. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow," concluded Leclerc in the Ferrari team report.

The Ferrari drivers are optimistic that overnight analysis will yield improvements, particularly in addressing tyre warming and further refining their race setup. With grip levels expected to improve as the weekend progresses, both drivers aim to capitalise on the evolving conditions at this unique Nevada circuit.

Ferrari will now focus on fine-tuning their SF-23 for the critical qualifying session, aiming to extract maximum performance from their package on what has proven to be a demanding debut for Formula 1 in Las Vegas.

With three GP weekends remaining, Ferrari are in a three-way fight for the 2024 F1 Constructors' title with McLaren and Red Bull, only 49 points separating them in the points standings. The Scuderia have not won an F1 title since 2008.