Lewis Hamilton shares a surprising verdict on his Ferrari after an underwhelming F1 Las Vegas GP Friday on the timesheets

Lewis Hamilton was surprisingly upbeat after the F1 Las Vegas GP Friday, even though the driver had a somewhat underwhelming run in both FP1 and FP2. The 7x champion was too far off his teammate in both sessions, as in FP1 he was in P11, while in FP2 he was P10. Despite that, the driver revealed that he felt more and more comfortable in the car as the day progressed.

Lewis Hamilton comes into the F1 Las Vegas GP on the back of receiving public criticism from Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who told the drivers to talk less and focus more on driving. The race weekend is essentially not expected to be a strong one for the team.

The temperatures are lower, and the surface is quite smooth. In such conditions, it becomes hard to generate temperatures in the tires, something that has been an Achilles heel for Ferrari throughout the season. With that being said, the first day of running has appeared positive for the team. Charles Leclerc led FP1, while Lewis Hamilton was unable to put together a clean lap.

Something similar happened in FP2, as the session was marred by red flag stoppages. Talking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after the day, Hamilton was quite positive as he revealed that he felt more and more comfortable in the car as the day progressed. He said,

"I felt pretty good today. I had a good Free Practice 1, even though I wasn't able to put together a fast lap afterwards. And the same thing happened in Free Practice 2."

He added,

"But we improved the car in Free Practice 2. I felt strong in the first sector, just like I did in the previous session. But between the yellow and red flags, I was held back. We're all in the same situation, but I learned a lot today and I can't wait for tomorrow."

Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc a bit more circumspect after Friday

Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc was a bit more circumspect after the running on Friday. The driver had topped FP1 and looked quite impressive in FP2 as well, even though he was unable to set a fast time on the soft tires. With that being said, the Ferrari driver still felt that Mercedes was the car that looked very competitive, as he said,

"Honestly, we're not in a bad position, but we'll have to see how tomorrow goes. I think Mercedes is very strong, and obviously McLaren and Red Bull are also fighting for the top spots. I think it will be a close battle, with very close gaps. I just hope I can continue building my weekend in the best possible way and fight for pole tomorrow. But for today, I'd say it was a positive Friday. I think the pace was competitive today."

He added,

"Now it's all about anticipating the conditions we'll find tomorrow and making sure we start on the right foot. But I have very clear ideas about what I want to do with the car, how to improve it. Let's wait until tomorrow to see if they really are the right choices."

The 2024 Las Vegas GP is the last time Lewis Hamilton stood on a podium. It's been 12 months since the driver has been top 3 in a Grand Prix, and he would be hoping to turn back the clock and put together a strong run this time around.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli