Live: Las Vegas GP updates - FP3

With that, we'll take a breather for a coffee break before firing up all over again for qualifying which starts at 6am GMT. Until then, go well!

What did we learn from that session ahead of qualifying? Well, Mercedes still appears strong and the track conditions will ramp up with every lap, so it could be a case of the last to set a lap time may triumph.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

So, a flurry of very late action to round out FP3 topped by Russell from Piastri, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton.

Anyway, the other 18 drivers minus Perez and Stroll do get to enjoy an out-lap, lap to the grid for a practice start and then an in-lap. Not much to learn, but it still sees the RBs almost collide as Tsunoda gets his braking wrong and nearly goes into the rear of Lawson.

Perez misses the opportunity to get out on track at the back of the car train, so he has to park at the end of the pitlane facing the red light. He's the only one to miss out and it was an odd one given he left a big gap to Russell ahead. He could've made it.

Stroll has come to a stop just outside the Venetian, as the car's red lights turn off so the marshals can recover the Aston Martin. The session will resume - for exactly 60 seconds to be precise.

Stroll's car totally switched off before he came to a halt and the red lights are flashing on his Aston Martin to indicate it isn't safe to touch yet. That could mean the session is effectively over with three minutes to go.

Not for long though, as a red flag is shown with Stroll parked at the side of the track with his Aston Martin smoking.

But just like that Verstappen is suddenly shuffled down to fifth as Russell goes fastest from Piastri, Sainz and Norris. The lap times keep on coming.

"The grip felt miles better," Verstappen reports on team radio. It certainly seems Red Bull has dialled in that car over the last hour.

Verstappen goes fastest of anyone with a 1m34.137s - 0.081s up on Russell. Problems, what problems?

Perez only manages 11th and 1.4s off the outright pace. Where does Verstappen stack up?

Verstappen has bailed out of his first push lap on the softs as Perez carries on. At the front, Russell takes over top spot again with a 1m34.218s.

Aaaaand there they are. Right on cue, Verstappen and Perez come out in formation and both on fresh soft tyres. Let's see what they've got ahead of qualifying.

There are 15 minutes left in FP3 but still no sign of the Red Bull drivers who haven't ventured out on the soft tyres yet.

After seeing so many empty seats for practice two, it is encouraging to see more spectators here for FP3. After asking around, it seems the locals are not bothered about practice, unlike some of the more-established markets. Organisers say they expect a full house on Saturday, so that's where their focus is. It does make it valid to suggest that perhaps, in order to increase ticket sales, Vegas should be selected as a location for the sprint races. At least it would get the punters in.

Russell briefly takes top spot only for his team-mate Hamilton to reply with a 1m34.341s - once again it is looking promising for Mercedes in these cold and slippery conditions. Can it last until the sessions that really matter?

A switch to Hamilton's onboard camera shows he is pushing on the softs, as he goes fastest overall with a 1m34.565s.

Plenty of lap time improvements elsewhere, as Magnussen goes fastest with a 1m34.883s for Haas.

"This is... I can't drive it. I'm gonna crash. My left front is completely f******," Verstappen says, stating his case to pit. Red Bull duly obliges and calls in its driver.

"It's only getting worse. The car is undriveable," Verstappen reports on team radio. "Just a couple more laps please Max. Have to try and make the best of this," Lambiase replies to his driver. That came after a lock-up at Turn 5.

All 20 drivers are on track so suddenly there is a fair bit of traffic to navigate. Hamilton gets caught behind Alonso and then Tsunoda to restrict his opening time lap to 1m36.590s.

Norris and then Piastri take over at the top, the Australian posting a 1m35.759s for top spot in the McLaren 1-2.

Tsunoda blows that theory away with a 1m37.517s to go three seconds quicker than Verstappen. A high number of drivers are on out-laps now so this track will ramp up rapidly over the final 34 minutes.

Norris posts a 1m41.653s to slot into third behind both Red Bulls. Another warm-up lap or is the track really this much slower? Verstappen improves to go top but only with a 1m40.588s.

Norris has come out to be our yardstick, running on the soft tyres, as Perez and Verstappen both improve by a handful of tenths on their next laps.

Verstappen's opening effort is a leisurely 1m42.180s on the medium tyres. It seems hard to believe track conditions mean nine seconds slower than FP2, but let's see what others can produce before drawing conclusions.

Verstappen has had enough of the hanging around in the pits and nips out for the first time in the session, joined by team-mate Perez. Given all the trouble-free running yesterday - just the one short red flag caused by Albon stoppage in FP2 - it perhaps isn't surprising there isn't much track action early in FP3.

The hard tyre scrubbing continues for a handful of drivers, meaning it is just Tsunoda on track at present. And still just the one lap time overall which came from Perez earlier.

It may only be a practice session but Red Bull and Max Verstappen, in particular, will be keen to show improvement on their performance yesterday. We know the wing is an issue but with everything else now turned up to qualifying spec, let’s see where they actually sit in terms of pace.

Lawson, who has also joined the fun scrubbing in his hard tyres, says it is very slippery on track. The circuit reopened for public traffic between FP2 and this session, so it will be a case of rebuilding the grip levels and cleaning the racing line.

"Ah. Miles off," Perez says over team radio after his first timed lap of 1m41.941s. Given FP2's top times were in the 1m33s, he's made an accurate summation.

Both Aston Martins are also in action early while the rest stay comfortable and warm in the garages. Handy, as it is 14.9C air temperature and given the timing of the sessions that is the warmest it'll be all night.

Zhou nips out for an early exploration of the Las Vegas Strip, taking in the sights during his installation lap. He's joined by Perez and Hamilton, with the Red Bull driver sporting a visibly trimmed rear wing - it looks like someone's taken a bite out of it.

Off we go for final practice!

While at Red Bull there is concern over its rear wing being unsuited to the demands of the Las Vegas track ,but that they are stuck with it for the weekend. Here's the full story.

The nightmare of manhole covers coming loose and delayed running were a distant memory, as the opening day of track action was a relatively straightforward and low key affair. Hamilton topped both FP1 and FP2 with Mercedes starting strongly in Vegas with Russell second in FP1 and third in FP2 too - not that the team understood why it was so fast.