Free Practice 3 in Las Vegas delivered an hour of razor-edge tension and near misses, the kind of session where the lack of incidents felt more shocking than anything else. With grip levels low and multiple cars flirting with disaster, it genuinely felt like the runoff areas saved half the grid from ending early. Drivers were still pushing hard on softs despite conditions that weren’t anywhere near “zero risk,” and the margin for error was thin enough that it was surprising nobody ended up in the wall. Several moments stood out, including Gabi nearly losing control in one of the corners, a moment likely caused by cold tires and an already slippery surface.
One of the most dramatic moments came when Lewis Hamilton closed rapidly on a slowing Liam Lawson. The gap evaporated so fast that Hamilton was within inches of running into him, the kind of moment that jolts you fully awake regardless of your local time zone. The sequence looked closer on replay than it initially seemed, and Lawson’s pace drop appeared to be a chain reaction from traffic ahead.
Despite the nerves, FP3 wasn’t without humor or personality. F1TV’s broadcast quirks only added to the entertainment, and even a random zoom-in on the lower order became unintentionally amusing. Meanwhile, the Williams looked spectacular under the Vegas lights, the black base made the blue pop more than usual, giving the car a look that felt tailor-made for a night race on the Strip.
A Wildly Unrepresentative FP3 Order
The final classification underscored how little can be gleaned from this session. George Russell topped the times with a 1:34.054, ahead of Max Verstappen and a standout third place for Alexander Albon. Behind them came Isack Hadjar, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly.
But as intriguing as the order looked, the session felt fundamentally non-representative. FP3 left no clear direction for qualifying or the race, and even qualifying itself won’t fully reveal the competitive picture given how relatively easy overtaking is around Las Vegas. The feeling heading into Saturday is simple: anything can happen, and it likely will.
Albon’s pace in particular is a genuine positive for him. His long-run feel has improved throughout the weekend and FP3 offered a much-needed confidence lift. His performance also brought back memories of prior shock runs, including earlier weekends where Yuki Tsunoda temporarily appeared deep into the top three before yellow flags disrupted his progression. The midfield looks unpredictable, and several drivers have shown flashes capable of shaking up the order.
Weather: The Uninvited Fourth Variable
Rain played a major role in shaping FP3, not during the runs themselves, but in the conditions leading into the session and during the post-practice period. Strong showers earlier left the circuit green and unstable, and further rain during the hour after FP3 suggested that qualifying will almost certainly begin on intermediates. Heavy precipitation, dropping temperatures, and a cold desert night are combining to produce an unusually low-grip environment.
The prospect of a wet or semi-wet qualifying adds unpredictability that Las Vegas rarely needs help producing. Wet sessions tend to invite red flags, and cold conditions only amplify that risk. Even without full rain, the surface is likely to be slick enough to catch out several drivers, the barriers could be a factor if grip doesn’t return quickly.
There’s no expectation of rain during the race, though. Clear, cold skies are forecast for Sunday, meaning this will be a low-grip weekend even without water involved. Cold or wet alone is manageable; cold and wet pushes the session toward unpredictability and elevated safety considerations.
McLaren’s Disrupted FP3
McLaren’s absence from the sharp end of the classification had a straightforward explanation: the team lost telemetry during the final phase of the session. Without reliable data, the cars couldn’t complete their soft-tire push laps just as the track was improving. Lando Norris was on a strong lap before he was called in, abandoning what looked like a purple-sector run. Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, continued to struggle more visibly with balance and grip.
The net effect is that McLaren’s FP3 times are almost meaningless for evaluating their real pace. There’s no reason to believe the team is genuinely off the mark, and if anything, the lack of representative running only adds to Saturday’s unpredictability.
Three Practice Sessions, Zero Answers
With FP1 affected by wind and oil-slick conditions, FP2 cut short by red flags, and FP3 run on a green, wet surface, Las Vegas has produced three practice sessions that offer almost no cohesive competitive picture. Nobody has meaningful race-run data. Nobody has seen a stable, consistent track. And nobody can point to a single session that cleanly defines the running order.
This weekend has taken on the feel of a sprint event with changing conditions, except with triple the running time and none of the clarity. That uncertainty has become part of the intrigue. When nothing is predictable, everything becomes interesting.
And that’s the essence of Las Vegas: a round where the competitive order behaves like a roll of the dice. Qualifying is shaping up to be spectacular, conditions are volatile, and the grid could end up scrambled in ways no model would dare predict.
If this is the prelude, the rest of the weekend is going to be wild.