Toto Wolff has labelled Mercedes as "dirty track champions" in F1 - as it had an encouraging start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton topped both FP1 and FP2 for the team, with George Russell second and then third, respectively as the W15 looked quick in the low grip conditions.
Mercedes' car has fared better in such low grip conditions and when the air and track temperatures are colder - with the conditions in Vegas not expected to be much warmer through the weekend.
Hamilton had endured a tricky Sao Paulo weekend, but consistently out-performed Russell on Friday, with Wolff believing the team had won an unwanted championship through its trend of performances.
"I think we are dirty track champions, FP1 is always great and then the moment the grip kicks in, we've seen that the performances deteriorate," Wolff told media including RacingNews365.
"Having said that, I think the gap was pretty big [in FP1], it's the biggest that we've seen so far in FP1, so we've got to spray some dust for all the sessions tomorrow, in qualifying or something.
"But I don't believe this kind of advantage to the other teams is going to last. I would very much hope that we're not falling behind like we did in the past on some of the tracks, but remain competitive, and fight in the front."
Also interesting:
Samuel Coop is joined by guest host Joris Mosterdijk and Fergal Walsh as the RacingNews365 team looks ahead to the second running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Will Max Verstappen wrap up his fourth drivers’ championship or will it roll onto Qatar? Also, the trio dissect the recently-confirmed F1 Live event to celebrate the championship’s 75th season and a rather mysterious social media message from Mick Schumacher.
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