Lewis Hamilton narrowly avoided a collision with Liam Lawson during the final practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. As Hamilton was pushing hard into a corner, he encountered a group of cars ahead, which forced a quick evasive maneuver.
Oscar Piastri moved left to give way to Hamilton, while Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, and Gabriel Bortoleto formed a single-file line on the right. Lawson slowed unexpectedly as he approached the corner, prompting Hamilton to swerve right and abort his lap to prevent an accident.
Race stewards reviewed the incident but issued no penalties to either driver, considering it a racing incident. Hamilton finished the session fifth-fastest, with Lawson placing seventh, showing competitive form ahead of qualifying.
George Russell topped the session with a lap time of 1m 34.054s, showing strong pace for Mercedes. Lawson completed 25 laps, taking his total weekend distance to 69 laps before qualifying later in the day.
Lawson’s best time was 1m 35.439s, 1.385 seconds slower than Russell’s top mark and behind the fastest time set by Red Bull’s Racing Bull driver on Friday. His teammate Isack Hadjar posted the fourth-best time, narrowly ahead of Lawson.
Tsundao struggled with pace, finishing 18th, over one second slower than Lawson and well off the leading times. Weather conditions played a role as overnight rain forced drivers to begin the session on intermediate tires before switching to softs.
Interestingly, none of the drivers practiced on hard tires during this session, despite them being the primary choice for the race distance. The teams focused their efforts on tire strategy and setup adjustments in preparation for Sunday’s grand prix.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 5pm local time, with all eyes on how teams manage tire wear and race pace around this unique street circuit. Hamilton’s quick reaction helped avoid what could have been a costly mistake in a critical practice session.
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