Related items

• 'Like driving on ice' - Verstappen and Red Bull struggle in Vegas practice

  Max Verstappen claimed that his Red Bull felt like "driving on ice" after struggling in Friday practice ahead of his potential coronation at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

  Verstappen entered the weekend hoping to leave with a fourth world title, but a fifth and 17th place finish in the opening practice sessions suggested it would be far from easy. 

  The Dutchman posted a soft-tyre lap just before Alex Albon caused a red flag midway through the second session, with Verstappen unable to improve on his time after that. 

  It left him two seconds off the pace set by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, revealing that the cold temperatures had an effect on his tyres. 

  "For me, it feels massively tyre-related. The balance of the car is not even wrong, I think," he said. "We just have no grip, like driving on ice at the moment."

  “Yeah, [it was] slippery. I think we struggled a lot with making the tyres work, over one lap especially.

  “The long run I think started off a bit more competitive, but even there I think we need to fine-tune a few things. The one-lap pace is quite far off.

  “It’s quite unique conditions around here, and it’s very cold, but at the end of the day it’s the same for everyone, so we need to try and understand what we’re doing wrong."

  Red Bull were down in the speed traps and Helmut Marko revealed the team had the wrong rear wing which has put them on the back foot.

  However, after topping the timesheets in both practice sessions, Hamilton was left mystified by Mercedes’ surprisingly strong pace after a poor showing in Interlagos last time out.

  The seven-time world champion clocked the fastest lap of the day as drivers up and down the grid struggled to extract performance around the low-grip track.

  His team-mate George Russell was similarly impressive, finishing in P2 and P3 across the two sessions to indicate that Mercedes are the team to beat this weekend. 

  “I mean that’s the first time I’ve had a day like that this year. The car was feeling generally good in FP1, in FP2 less so," Hamilton said. 

  “Difficult to know exactly where we are or why we are where we are but really enjoying driving the track and I think we’ll see whether the car is the same tomorrow.

  “The race pace is not that great so the work we have to do overnight is to figure out how to have better race pace without losing actual pace throughout the lap.

  "But it was nice to get like consecutive sectors, and the car not throwing me off which was nice."

• 'Super simple' – Lille president rules out January exit for Jonathan David

  Lille president Olivier Letang has categorically ruled out a January exit for forward Jonathan David amid links with a number of European clubs.

  David is out of contract at the end of the season and has been touted as a target for the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona.

  Speaking this week, the Canada international named Barcelona as his "dream" club but suggested he would prefer not to leave Lille mid-season.

  And in an interview with After Foot RMC, Letang confirmed no bids have yet been tabled ahead of the January window.

  "We are not going to sell him in January, and we have not received any offer for him," he said.

  "Jonathan's situation is super simple. We are very happy to have him with us. 

  "Last season he had one more year left on his contract. We were trying to qualify for the Champions League. 

  "You have a guy who scores 20 to 25 goals a season. We had no obligation to sell him."

  David is into his fifth season with Lille and has scored 97 goals in 202 games for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions while assisting a further 18.

  Seven of those goals have arrived in 11 appearances this term, including in Champions League games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.

  The 24-year-old's best league season with Lille saw him score 24 goals in 2022-23, while he has netted 19, 15 and 13 in the other full campaigns.

  Lille chief Letang reiterated that David has been offered a new deal to stay on at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but selling him has never been an option.

  "He is a player who scores between 20 and 25 goals and helps us qualify for the Champions League," he said. 

  "Plus, Jonathan loves Lille, which is his club. Our position was very clear from the beginning – we think of the athlete. 

  "Obviously, he already has an offer that is in his hands, the ball is in his court."

• Piastri aiming for win in Las Vegas with Norris title chances looking slim

  McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is targeting victory in Las Vegas on Sunday following the implosion of team-mate Lando Norris' Championship bid.

  While it is still mathematically possible that Norris could catch Max Verstappen – who will secure a fourth successive title by bettering the Brit this weekend – his chances are slim.

  As a result of Norris' title bid, Piastri had been under orders to prioritise his team-mate above himself. But with McLaren leading Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 36 points, it is likely focus will shift there.

  "There's still some, let's say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it's back to how it was," Piastri told reporters in Las Vegas.

  "The drivers' championship picture is very slim, and the constructors' championship is certainly not over for us.

  "So, it's a very specific few scenarios that maybe I'll still help out if that's what I'm asked to do, but I'm going into the weekend trying to win."

  Ahead of his potential coronation, Verstappen struggled on the first day of practice in Las Vegas, finishing in 17th.

  Norris, meanwhile, was second-fastest behind Lewis Hamilton. Piastri finished in eighth, although bizarrely reported that his car would not turn off after reaching the pit lane, although the issue was eventually resolved.

  Separately from Piastri, Norris had told reporters that – despite previous orders for Piastri to let him pass in races – the team had always come first and that would not change.

  "Everything we've done, we've just swapped a position," he said.

  "It benefited me because I was in the fight for the championship and that's the game we also have to play, just as I've helped Oscar in a few occasions and helped him win in Baku, you know. I did my job there.

  "I think Andrea [Stella] made it very clear from the beginning that we would never do something that would make the team result worse. So no, nothing is going to change."