Las Vegas GP 2025
NOVEMBER 22, 2025
Practice 3 Report - Russell leads Verstappen
© Mercedes
George Russell set the fastest time in a tricky wet-to-dry Free Practice 3 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, ending the final session before qualifying with a 1m34.054s lap as conditions improved sharply in the closing minutes. The Mercedes driver found grip early on his last soft-tyre run, edging Max Verstappen by 0.227s as the Red Bull driver logged a 1m34.281s — both laps coming as the Las Vegas circuit dried enough to allow representative slick-tyre running for the first time all morning.
With the early part of FP3 held in damp conditions following overnight showers, lap times initially sat nearly 10 seconds away from the dry-weather benchmarks. Lewis Hamilton led the first phase on intermediates with a 1m42.809s for Ferrari, before the field gradually phased in slick tyres around the halfway point. Alex Albon was among the first to commit, later securing third with a 1m34.875s for Williams as the track reached its fastest state inside the final 10 minutes.
Isack Hadjar continued his strong weekend for Racing Bulls by taking fourth with a 1m35.169s, just ahead of Hamilton, whose 1m35.269s put him fifth after a busy session that included a near-miss with Liam Lawson under braking at Turn 14. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli followed with sixth on a 1m35.385s, while Lawson's own 1m35.439s left him seventh.
Aston Martin locked out eighth and ninth, Lance Stroll producing a 1m35.533s and Fernando Alonso a 1m35.540s in a generally tidy hour for the team. Pierre Gasly completed the top ten with Alpine's best effort, a 1m35.562s.
Further down the order, Oliver Bearman continued his solid form for Haas with an 11th-placed 1m35.586s, while Charles Leclerc's 1m35.908s left the Ferrari driver 15th after an interrupted soft-tyre run. Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg followed, before Yuki Tsunoda — who briefly topped the session — ended 18th with a 1m36.667s as his late laps came before the track reached its peak.
McLaren endured the most difficult session of all, with telemetry failures preventing both drivers from setting competitive laps at the end. Oscar Piastri's 1m37.023s left him 19th, while Lando Norris' 1m37.112s placed him 20th after an electrical issue halted his final run.
With conditions expected to remain dry for qualifying, teams will lean heavily on earlier data — rather than this unpredictable FP3 — as they fine-tune setups for the session ahead.