Oliver Bearman expresses shock at 'dangerous' Las Vegas situation

Oliver Bearman has revealed he was "shocked" at the low level of grip at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit after experiencing the track for the first time.

The Haas driver was P16 in FP1 and P17 in FP2 in Sin City, and did not appear to enjoy his evening, labelling the combination of a high-speed, low-grip street track "dangerous", given how close the walls are.

Track evolution plays a starring role during sessions across the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, on account of the asphalt being used — and dirtied — by normal road traffic during the day. This was exacerbated by a spot of rain between FP1 and FP2.

When looking back at the opening two hours of running in Nevada, it was put to Bearman that how much the track ramps up is crucial to lap time.

"Yeah, exactly," the 20-year-old replied. "Something we knew, big track, evo[lution] on a circuit like this."

Expanding on his evening, the Briton added: "Honestly, those first few laps I did in FP1... Of course, it's a new track for me, [but] I was shocked by how low the grip was. It's sketchy out there.

"I don't know even how to describe the low level of grip that we experienced, but, in turn, that means that the evo is incredibly high.

"So, you know, even in that session, we were quite early to get onto the soft tyre.

"I didn't manage to do a lap on the softs, but that meant that when I boxed, I was in a good position, and by the time I went to go out again, I suddenly was five or six tenths [of a second] further away from the front.

"So, yeah, definitely big evo. It was a tricky session with the rain, with the traffic and with the interruptions, but I think we learned a lot.

"The track is new for me, so I'm also finding my rhythm around here. So I'm excited for tomorrow."

When asked how it compared to his experience at other street tracks, like in Jeddah and Baku, Bearman underlined how much of a departure the circuit in Las Vegas is from others.

"This is the least enjoyable street track I've driven. Normally, they're really, really fun and great," he responded.

"This one, really, really low grip, which is not a great combination when you have the walls very close. It's incredibly high speed, which is dangerous.

"I mean, the track itself — it's cool to be racing on the strip in Las Vegas. But aside from that, there's not much good stuff."