Current McLaren ace Lando Norris doesn't hide his dismay at the low-grip condition making the team's long-run pace at the Las Vegas Grand Prix look pretty slow- slower than the regular road car, that is.

While Norris clinched a promising second place in FP2, just a hair's breadth behind Lewis Hamilton, he remains cautious. The difficult track conditions characterize cold temperatures and lack of grip, which have intensified the problems grained at the front tires. The problem has significantly hampered the car's performance with longer runs.

What's frustrating for Norris now is that his personal battle with front tire graining has only added to the overall woes of the team. He reasons that the team does lots of work before the Las Vegas event when a strong result can be crucial to his championship hopes.

His teammate, Oscar Piastri, shares the same views. He highlights the rapid track progression, saying it is quite tough to make any concise inferences from practice performances. Although Piastri also agrees that Mercedes is showing some fantastic pace, he feels that McLaren is very much within their contention line for a competitive result.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix promises to be exciting and competitive. With the unique set of demands of the circuit and challenging conditions, teams will need to think and adapt fast to be able to put together a solid setup for good results. For instance, McLaren will be looking to sort out the long-run pace issues and tire management to be able to challenge the front runners.