Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Both the Red Bulls are out on the track at the moment together and it's going to be interesting to see how they get on because they've not set a lap time yet during this session on the soft tyre.

The two Red Bulls have rejoined the action following those earlier troubles on the mediums. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are on the soft tyres now, so let's see where the two can slot into on the timesheets...

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Las Vegas

That all got a little bit hairy, Pierre Gasly was let out into the pit-lane and the Williams of Franco Colapinto was also let out and they nearly collided, Esteban Ocon joined the party as well.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:34.341

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.134

3. Carlso Sainz (Ferrari) +0.394

4. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +0.542

5. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.564

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Lewis Hamilton has had nine laps on that soft tyre and is still able to go quicker. That's a rare thing that we see in Formula 1, it's not a high degradation circuit here.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Las Vegas

We've heard this before that the car is undriveable but it does sound like this is pretty tricky stuff for them [Red Bull] to navigate.

They were talking about the way they are having to set the car up with the rear wing earlier on, but it doesn't seem like they've got it in the sweet spot at all.

George Russell's engineer flags Zhou Guanyu and his Sauber blocking the path for his driver, noting the Chinese driver did the same thing yesterday. "Nice and consistent," says the Mercedes man in reply.

Russell did manage to get a decent lap in despite some traffic issue, but his time isn't good enough to beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who is 0.134 seconds quicker and sitting top of the timesheets.

Image source, Getty Images

"I can't drive it. I'm going to crash. My left front is completely ****"

"It's only getting worse, the car is undriveable."

The radio messages are anxious and frustrated over at Red Bull. Max Verstappen's is wrestling with his car and says it's pretty much undriveable, while Sergio Perez heads back to base pronto after feeling like he is going to crash. The pair return to the safety of the garage while the rest of the field contunie on the softs.

Lewis Hamilton is now quickest with a 1:34.565 ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc.

Only Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are on the medium tyres - the rest of the pack are taking the softs out for a spin before qualifying.

Kevin Magnussen put his Haas to the top of the timesheets, before team-mate Nico Hulkenberg bumps him down to second. The German is over two-tenths faster than the Dane with a 1:35.366.

Good session for Haas so far. Meanwhile, Red Bull are struggling...

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Track evolution is going to play a big part, the more cars going round is going to clean the track and lay some rubber down.

The Vegas Strip circuit is evolving now so the soft tyres have been bolted on for the majority of drivers who have headed out.

Oscar Piastri goes fastest on his first flying lap with a time of 1:35.759 ahead of the RB of Yuki Tsunoda and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

"Front left is dead."

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

McLaren could well win their first constructors' championship since 1998, that would be a massive feat.

Lando Norris has the soft tyre bolted on first in the McLaren and goes third on the board behind the two Red Bulls.

The lack of grip hampered Max Verstappen yesterday in first and second practice but the Dutchman is improving, now pulling out 0.449 seconds on team-mate Sergio Perez.

Zak Brown tells Sky Sports on the pit wall the team are just trying to get a few clean laps in on those C5 tyres.

Image source, Reuters

Like most third practice sessions, it's a relatively quiet start to proceedings. Sergio Perez is the only driver with a time on the board - a 1:41.941 on those C4 medium tyres. Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have made an appearance to satisfy the Vegas crowd, but that was to scrub a set of hards before heading back in.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, has joined his team-mate Sergio Perez on the mediums. But a lock-up on his out lap and a backing off on his first flying attempt sees the Dutchman go second on the timesheets.

The two Red Bulls are trading places. Verstappen improves on his next run but Perez is back on top with a marker 0.081 seconds quicker than the championship leader.

Image source, Getty Images

Yes, he does. But the odds are stacked against the McLaren driver now.

The 25-year-old needs to outscore rival Max Verstappen by three points to keep the title fight rolling on to the Qatar Grand Prix - which is a sprint event - next weekend.

Speaking in the build-up to Las Vegas, Norris said he "wasn’t ready" to go toe-to-toe with Verstappen and Red Bull in the early half of the season. "I think I am now now," he added. "But it’s probably too late."

Image source, Getty Images

Friday wasn't a showstopper for three-time world champion Max Verstappen, who has his first shot at securing his fourth consecutive trophy this weekend.

The Dutchman conceded Red Bull's one-lap pace was "quite far off", as the slippery conditions made it difficult to get the tyres in the right working window. The two Red Bulls didn't complete a lap on the soft compound in FP2, so were way down the pecking order.

A positive for Verstappen is he doesn't have to win outright in Las Vegas to seal the championship. If he finishes higher than Lando Norris on Sunday, then it's all over and he wins the crown with two races to spare.

He can still claim glory if he finishes third with the fastest lap and Norris comes second; likewise if he finishes fourth with the extra point for fastest lap and the McLaren driver comes home in third.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Lewis Hamilton has started this weekend superbly, fastest in both FP1 and FP2 but it's really difficult to know if that is a true read of the pace.