Red Bull Racing had a rough start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix. On Thursday (Friday in Europe), they realized their car setup was wrong as they brought a wrong rear wing and things didn’t improve much during the third practice.

Sergio Perez was the first to set a lap but quickly complained about being “miles off.” Max Verstappen also had issues, locking up early and warning the car felt so bad he might crash.

Most teams waited before heading out on the slippery track, but Red Bull led the way, followed by McLaren and RB. Haas surprised everyone when Kevin Magnussen briefly topped the timesheets, but Mercedes soon took control.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, thriving in the cool conditions, put their cars at the front once. Verstappen, after some tweaks in the pits, managed to improve and post a faster lap, just ahead of the Mercedes duo. The Dutchman then reported that the grip "feels miles better".

The session was interrupted with 6 minutes remaining to the end, when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin completely switched off and stopped on track, causing a red flag.

With little time left after the stoppage, most drivers couldn’t improve. Russell ended on top with a 1m 33.570s, followed by Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and Verstappen. Hamilton, who had been strong earlier in FP1 and FP2, finished sixth.

Red Bull’s mixed results only left more questions about how they’ll perform in qualifying and then in the race.