Formula 1: Verstappen clearly behind World Cup pursuer Norris in training

Defending champion Max Verstappen struggled on the first day of training before the Grand Prix in Las Vegas and was unable to keep up with his pursuer Lando Norris. McLaren driver Norris finished the second free practice session in second place, 0.011 seconds behind Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (1:33.825 minutes).

The Brit was in the top three in the first free practice session on the extremely dusty and dirty street circuit in the US state of Nevada, and Hamilton was also fastest in the first round.

Verstappen only in 17th place

Verstappen managed the fifth-best time, but in the later session he didn’t get past 17th place. The Red Bull driver from the Netherlands was 2.009 seconds short of the top.

The race on Saturday evening also starts at 10 p.m. local time (7 a.m. Sunday CET/Sky and RTL) and thus in similarly cold temperatures as the second training session. The asphalt was still 12.6 degrees at the end. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez only finished in 19th place and was another 0.221 seconds slower.

Norris still has a theoretical chance of winning the world title

Norris still has a theoretical chance of winning his first world title, but to do so he has to clearly beat leader Verstappen in the night race over the famous strip. As the leading driver, Verstappen is 62 points ahead of Norris in the World Championship standings. If the defending champion wins the third-to-last race of the season, he can no longer take away the fourth world championship title of his career. The 27-year-old also has numerous other scenarios to win the title.

Nico Hülkenberg came ninth in the second training session at the Haas, while his teammate Kevin Magnusson finished seventh. Haas is fighting for crucial points in the constructors’ championship. McLaren is at the top of this ranking.