Hamilton and co. address Las Vegas GP weather concerns after flood warning

11:54, 20 Nov

Updated: 13:24, 20 Nov

byBen Winship

The weather forecast is dominating the preamble at Las Vegas GP after major flooding hit much of the area earlier in the week.

Though the flood warning introduced on Monday is no longer in place, light rain threatens parts of the Grand Prix weekend.

The potential of driving around a wet Las Vegas Street Circuit under the light has been a talking point throughout much of the media activity on Wednesday.

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Lewis Hamilton said: “It’s gonna be really hard if it's wet. This is probably the slipperiest track that we go to in terms of the grip we have had in the last couple of years.

“Getting the tires working here was very tough in these cool conditions. Obviously these tires have a very narrow working window and that would be even worse obviously when it's on inters or extreme wets.

“But I'm down for the challenge if we're faced with it and I'm constantly learning about how to get this car into a bit of a happier spot in terms of driving - it doesn't necessarily love the rain.

“It will be a challenge for everyone but hopefully we'll get some dry sessions in.”

Hamilton recovered from P10 on the grid to finish second in last year's race - Photo: RacePictures

Fernando Alonso added: “Not fun. Not fun at all. It's fast. Visibility is going to be a challenge under the lights and also the grip level is very low already on dry tyres - temperature is low.

“So it could be fun to watch, but not to drive.”

Last year’s race winner George Russell said: “Out of all of the races, I would choose for this one not to be wet but, nevertheless, I still feel good.

“I think it's going to be very cold, the tyres will be difficult to switch on. Street track, white lines, a bit bumpy in sections. So it'll catch people out, and you’ve just got to make sure you're not one of them.”

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George Russell was victorious last time out in Las Vegas - Photo: RacePictures.

Max Verstappen, who won the first race at the new Las Vegas layout in 2023 added: “If it rains, the tarmac is wet so it's a bit slippery. I'm not looking forward to that potentially.

“I prefer to just have a dry race. It's already hard enough to get everything working here - or understanding at least something.

“I prefer a bit more straightforward but if the track floods, maybe less practice is also not a bad thing.”

Updated weather forecast

After a cloudy morning, light rain is forecast for later in the day on Thursday which could bring a moderate chance of one light shower in FP2.

Following a moderate to high chance of rain overnight, Friday morning is expected to be mostly cloudy with chances of showers until mid-afternoon. The chance of rain decreases throughout the day, with increased cloudiness into qualifying at 20:00 local time.

The best weather of the weekend is expected on race day. Saturday will be mainly sunny with the race at 20:00 expected to be dry.

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