Lewis Hamilton topped both practice sessions on Friday to make the perfect start at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as championship leader Max Verstappen struggled for pace.

Hamilton was quickest in a largely unrepresentative first practice but set the pace in the second session to underline Mercedes’ strong form in the cool Vegas conditions.

Lando Norris was only 0.011s behind Hamilton on a weekend he is looking to keep the title race alive as he trails Verstappen by 62 points with three events remaining.

Norris must outscore Verstappen by at least three points in Sunday’s race at 6am to stay in the championship and he will be buoyed by Red Bull’s lack of speed.

Verstappen did not complete a run on the soft tyres in second practice, so was down in 17th, but never looked like challenging the top positions.

Following his magnificent win in the rain last time out in Brazil, Red Bull are on the backfoot as they have been at most events in the second half of this season.

George Russell was also quick throughout the day and ended up in third, only 0.190s slower than Hamilton, who is approaching the end of his 12 seasons at Mercedes before he joins Ferrari in 2025.

Ferrari are in the mix as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc completed the top five, with Pierre Gasly a surprise sixth for Alpine, one race on from their shock Sao Paulo double podium.

One more hour of practice takes place on Saturday at 2.30am, with qualifying at 6am – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.

Cold conditions helping Mercedes

Mercedes have had just one podium in the seven races after the summer break, with Hamilton and Russell often fighting in the midfield rather than the front.

Hamilton took the team’s last win, in Belgium, although Russell took the chequered flag in first place only to be disqualified for an illegal car.

A trend for Mercedes this year is they have been more competitive when the temperatures have been cooler, and Vegas is the coldest venue on the F1 calendar as the temperatures only reach around 15 degrees Celsius at night.

Russell initially set the pace on the soft tyres in second practice but Hamilton hit back just before a brief red flag for Alex Albon, who came to a halt due to a fuel system issue with 20 minutes left.

Most drivers completed a qualifying simulation but not championship leader Verstappen or Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

Both drivers had lock ups or ran wide throughout Friday and Verstappen may be relieved about his healthy championship lead coming ahead of the last triple-header in 2024.

“Max went into Turn 1, ran wide and had some understeer through Turn 2 and went onto the dust,” observed Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok when keeping an eye on Verstappen’s soft tyre efforts in second practice.

“He aborted that lap then did another lap to recharge and did the first two sectors before the red flag but was eight tenths down on Hamilton. It wasn’t looking great.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Las Vegas GP schedule

Saturday November 23
2.15am: Las Vegas GP Practice Three*
5am: Las Vegas GP Qualifying build-up*
6am: LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
8am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*

Sunday November 24
4.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Las Vegas GP build-up*
6am: THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX*
8am: Chequered Flag: Las Vegas GP reaction*
9am: Ted’s Notebook*

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1 where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Stream the final three F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime