Liam Lawson prepared for 'shock' as rain causes 'confusing' Las Vegas challenge

Liam Lawson has revealed that light rainfall made second practice "confusing" ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, with him expecting a repeat of what made everyone feel "shocked" 12 months ago. 

A light rain shower ahead of second practice in Sin City left no visible water on the track surface; however, it did make it incredibly slippery. 

To add to the challenge, two red flags in the final 20 minutes meant long run and short run data was not gathered. 

As a result, the paddock is entering final practice on Friday evening blind, with Lawson believing Racing Bulls are not quite as good as the timesheets suggest – Isack Hadjar and Lawson ended FP2 in fifth and sixth, respectively.

"I think it was okay," said Lawson. "I think we struggled a little bit in FP1 but obviously in FP2 as well, not everybody got their [soft tyre] laps in. 

"So we're probably not quite as good as we look, but I think we're in a better place than we started today, which is the main thing. 

"And I think tomorrow we have another session to try and keep building on the car. It's just very close, as usual. So yeah, we'll see what we get tomorrow."

Wet weather challenge

To add to the challenge, rain started to fall again after FP2 had finished, meaning the circuit will reset once again for final practice. 

Lawson is expecting FP3 to feel similar to last season, when the low level of grip stunned the drivers.

Asked to explain why the circuit is so difficult, Lawson replied: "It's very, very low grip. We had a little bit of rain, or like, really light drizzle.

"You couldn't see the water, but you could just feel it, and it was really confusing to drive and only some parts of the track were damp. So obviously, tomorrow we shouldn't have any rain, but if we do, it's going to make it very tough.

"But it's just slippery, very, very slippery to start the session, and then tomorrow, obviously the track will reset again.

"We had that last year, and I think we were all quite shocked, so we're expecting it to be a difficult start to FP3 but hopefully by qualifying, we we have a car similar to what we have now."