F1 Las Vegas GP live updates – media day

AND THAT'S A WRAP FROM VEGAS TONIGHT

Coins are still ringing in the slots in the casinos but the F1 paddock has put its business on pause. We'll be back for LIVE coverage of FP1 which kicks off at 16:30 local time.

TURN THE BEAT AROUND

Lando Norris, meanwhile, has been reflecting on how he turned his world championship bid around.

It has been quite the swing. Team-mate Oscar Piastri took the lead in April and looked to be extending it – until a run of bad results from the disastrous Baku weekend onwards.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images

What do we suppose Lando and Esteban are whispering to one another here? Captions at the ready...

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR MAX

Three, as De La Soul famously sang, is the magic number. Advance to the tune but don't do the hustle!

Ah, we digress. But it's been a long day/night/etc.

Anyway, Max Verstappen has been talking about what race number he might run under in the event that he doesn't capture the number one again. Will he revert to 33? No! He's got designs on Daniel Ricciardo's old number...

LECLERC REACTS TO ELKANN GRIPE

Now it's Charles Leclerc's turn to be grilled about Ferrari chairman John Elkann's suggestion that the Scuderia's drivers should speak their brains less and focus on driving more.

"John and I have known each other for many, many years," said Leclerc. "So we have a very good relationship and obviously we've been working together for many years.

"I know John is a very ambitious person and wants to push people to the maximum in order to have the maximum results. He loves Ferrari, I love Ferrari, we all love Ferrari and we try to do the best in every situation.

"And I didn't actually see the news. John called me before that, just like he does after every races to catch up and to also tell me that the messages he wanted to send was a positive one in saying, 'yeah, we need to do better' and that is clear for everyone.

"So really, we are aligned and I'll do absolutely everything in order to bring back Ferrari to the top. This I've always said in the past and I've always tried my best.

"I'll try to do better. But yeah, and that really is the priority in the team and what we want to achieve."

ANTONELLI: PIASTRI "IS WRONG"

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has had his say in the ongoing ruckus over Oscar Piastri's penalty in Sao Paulo. Antonelli picked up wheelspin twice at the restart after a Safety Car deployment, was swamped by Piastri and Charles Leclerc into Turn 1, and – depending on your point of view – turned in to the corner as if Piastri wasn't already arriving on the inside line at grand vitesse.

"Well, I think, if you stand by the driver's guidelines, Oscar is wrong - and, you know, the stewards stand by the guidelines and that's why the penalty was given," Antonelli said.

"You know, also in Zandvoort, I was penalised. Obviously, it was a bit different, but the dynamic was kind of the same, you know. I was not fully alongside in Zandvoort and I collided with Charles and I got my penalty.

"And with Oscar, the thing is, yes, approaching the braking he was alongside me, but when we brake, he broke much earlier than me. And from being fully alongside, his front wing was at the back of my wheel, was in my rear wheel.

"And then, of course, you know, then obviously we were also three wide, which is never easy. I mean, the thing also, everything happened so quick that it's hard.

"I was trying to give space to Charles, of course, because I had Oscar inside me. But then, obviously, in the braking, I didn't even see him anymore because he broke so much earlier than me.

"But then, obviously, he [Piastri] locked up and I closed a bit the corner and we collided. I think it was an unlucky situation.

"But if we stand by the guidelines, the penalty is fair because it wasn't at my mirror, at the level of my mirror. And that's how it is, of course.

"Maybe it can be a bit unfair, maybe it was a racing incident because the situation was tricky. But the rules are these and that's why in Qatar we will discuss about it for the future to try to make it better."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Mark Thompson - Getty Images

HAMILTON HITS BACK on "ELKANN-GATE"

You may recall that Ferrari chairman John Elkann kicked off a brouhaha last week when he suggested that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc should "talk less and focus on driving". A bit rich coming from someone who owes his position in life to being the grandson of the successful guy in the family, no?

Well anyway, Lewis Hamilton was invited to comment on Elkann's pronouncements, and he did:-

"I'm always willing to do less media!

"But no, seriously, I think we all need to take responsibility in this team and we all need to play our part. And I know that there's so much passion in this team, every single member of this team. 

"I'm incredibly grateful for the extraordinary effort every single person back at the factory continues to put in week on week. And naturally, knowing that the team is Ferrari, there's always a huge amount of attention, not always in a positive way, but we're all fully committed to turn this around and I'm fully committed to helping this team rebuild and grow.

"Every challenge is an opportunity for us to grow and learn and I firmly believe that we will get to where we want to be."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

"TOO LATE, TOO COLD"

Nico Hulkenberg has mixed feelings about this location. Asked about the Strip circuit, he said:

Yeah, it's not bad. It's just too cold. Too late in the year, too cold.

"That kills the fun a bit, I think. It would be a lot better. Imagine it would be 20-ish degrees!"

Asked if he was referring to the situation regarding tyre degradation, The Hulk elaborated.

"I don't know about deg. I just mean the vibe. The deg will be what it will be!"

RUSSELL DOESN'T RATE McLAREN'S VEGAS CHANCES

This place has been a bit of a bogey circuit for McLaren, a fact of which the team's leaders are well aware. They've been taking steps to correct this, but...

Mercedes' George Russell, the winner here last year, still doesn't think McLaren will feature this weekend.

"If I took Mercedes out of the equation and I were to try and guess who would win this weekend, I think this would be a circuit where McLaren would struggle more than usual," he said in the pre-race official FIA press conference.

"When you look at their performance in Canada, it was the only time they weren't on the podium, and their performance in Baku, the only time they weren't on the podium.

"This circuit has some similar characteristics to the two of those tracks when you talk about the coldness, the type of tarmac, the C5 tyre, and then obviously low downforce. Baku is the same as Las Vegas, but you know, there are always these surprises, and I think it's so close in Q3 now between so many teams.
 
"If you could do a magic lap and you can start from pole position, your whole weekend changes. They'll be there or thereabouts, but I think Red Bull probably have a better chance."

Mind you, his own team has been downplaying its chances of a repeat win, so...

UNPRECEDENTED STROLL

Something incredible has happened in Las Vegas, dear readers: a vaguely interesting Lance Stroll press conference. Yes, we had to sit down before typing those words.

After the Sao Paulo GP, Franco Colapinto tore the Aston Martin driver off a strip for tipping Gabriel Bortoleto into a spin on the opening lap.

"Stroll is just always taking people out, just not looking in the mirrors, leaving no track, and he put Gabi in the wall," Colapinto harrumphed. "It's what he does every time."  

Lance has now set the record straight with some acidic wit.

"I heard about it. I don't know. Maybe he's frustrated and angry with life," Stroll said.

"I don't know how many points he has in the championship. I can't tell you."

Well, actually, he did and he could.

"He has zero points," continued Lance (perhaps having quickly looked it up on Wikipedia). "I don't know. He should probably focus on his own things and try to score some points this year."

Mic drop!

DRIVERS HIT BACK AT 'UNACCEPTABLE' PENALTIES

Those readers who remember Grand Designs may also recall Supernanny, where grossly incompetent parents would hand over their ill-behaved brats to the titular toddler-wrangling expert for corrective therapy. Her catchphrase was "This is unacceptable", curiously and distinctively pronounced "un-ack-sepp-able" (so no 't' at all, a development of the 'd-for-t' tic deployed by several dossers in broadcasting).

Anyhow, we digress slightly. Besides getting wet today, Carlos Sainz and others have been expressing frustration at the number of "unacceptable" penalties being dished out recently, the most recent bone of contention being Oscar Piastri's 10-second ping for his part in triggering the Turn 1 shunt which eliminated Charles Leclerc from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

There are those who believe Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was at least partially culpable for the accident, turning in to the corner as if Piastri were not already alongside and heading to the apex. But because the McLaren's front axle wasn't alongside the Merc's mirror at the apex, it didn't meet the bar in F1's driving guidelines, hence the penalty.

"I think we need urgently a catch-up and try and solve it," said Carlos. "Because for me the fact that Oscar got a penalty there in Brazil is unacceptable, honestly, for the category that we are in and being the pinnacle of motorsport." 

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

THE HOUSE MAX BUILT

ICYMI, Max Verstappen is considering a future house built around a bigger home sim rig. Some readers may be familiar with the British TV series Grand Designs in which people with more money (or a bigger credit line) than sense splurge their wealth (or somebody else's money) on some absolute folly while presenter Kevin McCloud coos enthusiastically about the architect's vision.

Famously, one of these took over a decade to complete and ended with the delusional punter divorced and having to build a smaller house alongside to live in while selling the featured property. Good thing Kelly is used to Max spending most of his free time on the sim already, eh?

LECLERC DAZED AND CONFUSED

It's been a funny old day for Charles Leclerc. On top of rain, the poor chap's pass didn't work on the way into the paddock. And then when he finally got through the gates, he was greeted by an Elvis impersonator waving a '150 races' banner. Charles notched up his 150th GP back in Suzuka (it's Lando Norris and George Russell who hit that mark this weekend).

And of course he will be well aware that the real Elvis is no doubt currently sunning himself by a pool somewhere in South America, along with Colin Chapman, uh huh...

SOME PEOPLE SAY THIS IS A MICKEY MOUSE CIRCUIT

...we couldn't possibly comment, but Mickey himself has been present today.

WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS

...where, would you believe it, the rain has been lashing down earlier in the day. Which driver looks coolest while rocking an umbrella? We'll say Franco Colapinto for now...