Thursday Team Quotes

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen (17th, 1:35.834): "The issue for us is definitely tyre related as we have no grip and it feels like driving on ice. It was really slippery on track today: I think we struggled to make the tyres work, especially over one lap, and we were quite far off with the pace. On the long runs we started off a bit more competitively, but we still need to fine tune a few things. It is very cold and the conditions are quite unique around here. However, at the end of the day this is the same for everyone, so we need to understand what we are doing wrong. The issue for us is definitely tyre related as we have no grip and it feels like driving on ice. We will look into what we can do to fix this and hopefully improve for tomorrow."

Sergio Perez (19th, 1:36.055): "We have got to focus overnight to really try to exploit everything because we are not where we want. I think we have some work to do over one lap, I think the long run looked a little bit more promising, but we have got to focus overnight to really try to exploit everything because we are not where we want. We were mainly struggling with balance in the low speed today, the rear is stepping out a lot, we came down a lot on downforce with the rear wing and it made it quite tricky. Especially over a single lap we need to improve and hopefully we can do that, make another step and go in the right direction. We know that here, Sunday is the most important day, and you can overtake and so on, so it will be very critical to be able to have some good pace."

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton (1st, 1:33.825): "I felt really good out there today. I think that is the first practice day this year that we've been consistently strong, and the car has felt quick throughout. I am really enjoying driving this track and it was nice to put together three good, competitive sectors over the lap. Despite topping both sessions, it is difficult to know exactly where we are in the competitive order with everyone running different fuel loads and run plans. Our long run pace didn't look quite as good as our speed on the single lap. We therefore have work to do overnight to try and improve that without compromising our speed for qualifying. I'm hopeful we can still be in the mix tomorrow; I will get some good rest tonight and come back strong."

George Russell (3rd, 1:34.015): "That was a really good day for us as a team. It is still only practice, but it is definitely encouraging. The car has been working from the off and I felt good behind the wheel. Lewis was on it from lap one and did a great job to top both sessions. That said, it is a street track and quite a dirty circuit today. As it continues to both clean up and grip up, I am sure it will continue to evolve. It is likely that the times will be three seconds or so quicker come qualifying tomorrow. We will therefore pick through the data overnight to understand exactly why we were so strong and how we can continue to make improvements too. It is clear others will take a step forward so we will have to be at our best if we want to challenge at the front again on Friday."

Andrew Shovlin: "We've had a solid day here in Las Vegas. It's tricky with the very cold temperatures to get the tyres into the window but in relative terms, it looks like we were coping reasonably well. It was encouraging that all our laps on low fuel looked competitive in both practice sessions. The circuit is going to grip up significantly so we need to make sure we can track that with the setup, but so far it does look like we're in a better place than at most of the recent races. It's quite hard to work out where we sit on the long run. We saw a lot of degradation across the field, with cars that pushed harder early on looking poor later in the stint but it's clear that a bit of management is going to be required to look after the tyres on Saturday night."

Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz (4th, 1:34.105): "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 we are still not satisfied with where we are and we need to keep working on it. Hopefully the analysis tonight will help in finding our biggest areas of improvement and we can get to Qualifying in better shape. Race pace wasn't too bad, but there's still a lot to do."

Charles Leclerc (5th, 1:34.313): "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."

McLaren Formula 1 Team

Lando Norris (2nd, 1:33.836): "Thursday done in Vegas. It's nice to be back in the car. It was tough out on track. It's slippery and there's very low grip, similar to last year so we expected these conditions. A challenging combination. It's slightly difficult to feel comfortable and get the car in a good place, but we made some progress, which is always positive. We still have some more work to do, so we'll debrief and prepare for tomorrow."

Oscar Piastri (8th, 1:34.798): "An interesting day. There are a couple of things we need to work on, but I think the pace seems pretty reasonable, so I'm relatively happy with today. It's now just about getting it all together and getting the tyres into the right window, which I'm not sure I fully did today. I still think there are a lot of positives to take away, we just need to tidy it up ahead of tomorrow's Qualifying."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "There were no surprises during the first day of running here in Las Vegas. Similar to last year with the cold conditions, we expected low grip and unique tyre behaviour and that was the case. Finding the right set-up isn't easy, but we still seem to be relatively competitive. However, Mercedes seem to be very quick, likewise Ferrari and I'm sure Red Bull will also be competitive for the rest of the weekend. We need to work hard to maximise the performance of the car in these tricky conditions and score as many points as possible."

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

Lance Stroll (13th, 1:35.251): "It's been a tricky day at track. This circuit can be a challenge to drive with big braking zones and close walls, and the cold temperatures mean it's hard to switch on the tyres. We got a good amount of running in though. It's too early to make predictions for the weekend, but we'll work through the data and make some improvements tonight."

Fernando Alonso (14th, 1:35.440): "It wasn't easy out there with very cold temperatures tonight making it difficult to keep the tyres in the right window. We tried a few different car setup philosophies in both sessions. We have some work to do overnight to find more performance ahead of tomorrow."

BWT Alpine F1 Team

Pierre Gasly (6th, 1:34.651): "It's great to be back in Las Vegas at this really unique venue for Formula 1. Track conditions were difficult to begin with, as expected, with low grip and a lot of sliding. I felt quite good straight away in the car and we seemed competitive right from Free Practice 1. We ended sixth place in Free Practice 2 so we are in the mix and we know our targets – Haas and RB – were also competitive. We must keep working hard tonight as the long run on high fuel was more challenging with tyre graining. The midfield is close where a tenth of a second can change a lot of things. We remain optimistic to be in the mix but Qualifying is one thing, the Race is another, and we must get on top of a few areas if we are to come away with a good result."

Esteban Ocon (12th, 1:35.221): "I am excited to be back on track again in Las Vegas and drive under the lights of the Strip. Today has been a productive day that has given us plenty to debrief on overnight. As expected, tyre degradation and grip were key factors in today's sessions. They will be a big focus for us over the weekend as they will play a big role in the Race, which we can try to use to our advantage like last season. We have some performance to find ahead of Qualifying and I am looking forward to Free Practice 3 to implement some improvements. The weekend will not be easy, but we will work together to maximise what we can and aim to have a positive result."

Williams Racing

Franco Colapinto (18th, 1:35.868): "It's been a very nice experience today to drive under the lights of Vegas for the first time. In FP1 we were quite strong, but the track was very dirty, like a rally track, when we started today. It's a very low grip track and, with the low temperatures, it's difficult to get the tyres up to temp and keep them in the window. We will work hard tonight to understand the best direction to go in tomorrow and I'm sure we are going to be stronger."

Alexander Albon (20th, 1:39.629): "We're certainly lacking mileage today and around this track, getting those laps in is vital as it's so tricky and you need to feel confident with everything, especially your braking confidence. We'll be able to fix the issue, but we certainly have a lot of work to do tomorrow in FP3. We need to look at our performance and see where we can improve but it will be about getting those tyres in the right window, and we're not quite there yet."

Sven Smeets, Racing Director: "After the damage we suffered in Mexico and Brazil, the team did a phenomenal job to get us ready for this weekend. The drivers will ramp up the pace in each session and you will see that as we go through the weekend, but every lap counts on this tricky circuit and unfortunately Alex suffered a fuel system issue which has put us a bit on the back foot. It is Franco's first time here and he is learning where the limit is. We will keep building and are looking forward to Qualifying tomorrow."

Visa Cash App RB Formula One

Yuki Tsunoda (10th, 1:34.997): "I think we've found the direction to follow for the rest of the weekend. Overall, it was a positive first day here in Las Vegas. We struggled a bit in FP1, but then we managed to turn it around later in FP2. It's a positive sign, as usually it's not an easy thing to do, and I think we've found the direction to follow for the rest of the weekend. We need some more finetuning for tomorrow to find a couple of tenths to try and get into Q3. The long runs also seemed positive, even if I think it depends a lot on how we're able to manage the tyres, given the tricky and unusual conditions we have here, but will be important to find the right balance in terms of car setup between short and long runs."

Liam Lawson (15th, 1:35.621): "We started the day really slow and then we made a step up and learnt quite a lot. A challenging day today, honestly. We started the day really slow and then we made a step up and learnt quite a lot. It's obviously extremely cold and the track earlier was really slippery and dirty, so you're just waiting for it to build up. In FP2 the track was colder but better, and we learnt things that will help us tomorrow. We have the knowledge from today to improve, so hopefully we can be punching on the back end of the top 10, but it depends on how everyone else steps up as well."

Alan Permane, Racing Director: "We didn't get the best out of the cars in FP1, but we learned a lot from it and made several changes between the sessions. Honestly, this was quite a tough day for us. We didn't get the best out of the cars in FP1, but we learned a lot from it and made several changes between the sessions. Both drivers were much happier in the second session, although not completely satisfied. This has given us a clear indication of the direction we have to go in overnight and I believe we can make a similar step from FP2 to FP3 as we did between today's sessions. That should give us a much more competitive car."

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Valtteri Bottas (11th, 1:35.020): "The upgrades we brought this weekend seem to be functioning as expected, which is a good sign indicating that we've made a step forward with the performance of the car. While it's always difficult to say exactly where we'll stand tomorrow, we don't seem to be in too bad a position compared to the most recent events. Of course, the five-place grid penalty is a setback, but we'll do everything we can in qualifying to be as far high in the standings as we can. Now, the focus shifts to finding more single-lap performance to improve our qualifying performance, while also working to strengthen our race pace, which has been an area of weakness for us recently."

Guanyu Zhou (16th, 1:35.765): "During today's practice sessions, we were able to collect a good amount of data. It's pretty insane how low the grip is! While the track improves session by session, every time it resets it feels like ice skating. We've tried different setups, and while I'm still searching for the limit, the balance isn't quite in the 'happy place' yet. I'm sure we can work on it tonight: I know what I need from the car, and if we can find the right way to get there, there's potential to unlock. The conditions are tricky, especially in certain corners, but that adds to the challenge of this track. I'm excited for tomorrow's qualifying—anything can happen."

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team

Kevin Magnussen (7th, 1:34.586): "It's been looking good. Like the last few races, it's been a strong start, and the car is looking good. It's a strange track as the surface is super slippery and you're sliding around and graining your tires, so the track is evolving every lap and you're gaining seconds each time. It's hard to feel super confident as it's clear it could change around quite a bit, but it's a good place to build for tomorrow."

Nico Hulkenberg (9th, 1:34.818): "It was a decent Thursday, no hiccups, and I felt good in the car in FP1 which is invaluable around a track like this. We'll try and dial-in a little bit more performance, but I think we can fight to be the fifth-fastest team again and fight for points come race day."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "I think it was a decent Thursday; our pace is there or thereabouts. It wasn't perfect but as far as practice days go, it was fine. The problem we have with tire graining, I think it's the same for everyone, so we need to fine-tune our management to have slightly better consistency. On low-fuel pace, again there's a bit to improve, but it's a good starting point."