Anthony Davidson questions what Liam Lawson was doing in near miss with Lewis Hamilton in Las Vegas

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Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson were millimetres away from a terrifying shunt during FP3 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, leading Anthony Davidson to question the Racing Bulls driver in his immediate reaction to the incident.

The third and final practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend started in damp conditions after the grid were greeted with rain upon waking up on Friday morning.

After spending the first half of the session on intermediate tyres, many drivers emerged from the pits with dry-weather rubber bolted onto their Formula 1 cars, including Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver attempted to get some qualifying runs in ahead of the shootout later on in the day, but was severely hindered by Liam Lawson at turn 14.

Hamilton was forced to take avoiding action to save himself and Lawson from a crash that could have had dire consequences to their qualifying plans, or even something much worse.

READ MORE: George Russell tops FP3 timings at Las Vegas Grand Prix as McLaren suffer potential electrical issue

Anthony Davidson questions what Liam Lawson was doing before turn 14 incident with Lewis Hamilton

During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the final practice session in Sin City, former F1 driver Anthony Davidson gave his immediate reaction to the incident, and was left questioning the awareness of the New Zealander at a corner with such a rapid closing speed.

He said (22/11 1:09am), “I don’t know how [Hamilton] got away with that one. I just can’t believe he didn’t tag the left front wheel.

“He just couldn’t slow it down, and, well, the cars in front are obviously messing around, jostling for position, and they didn’t put their foot down.

“But that, I don’t know what it would have looked like from the offboard, but on the onboard, let’s see it again.

“So someone moves out to the left-hand side, and then the closing speed is too much. I’m sorry, what? He was miles away at the top of the screen. What were they doing?”

READ MORE: 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix race and qualifying times, how to watch and Nevada weather forecast

Bernie Collins blames the ‘changeable conditions’ for Lewis Hamilton’s near miss with Liam Lawson

As the co-commentator alongside Davidson and Sky Sports F1 regular David Croft, Bernie Collins also offered her verdict on the incident, citing the track conditions at the time as a factor in the ‘dangerous’ incident.

The former Aston Martin strategist said, “This is what happens in these changeable conditions. Lots of cars are on different run profiles, some are going fast and some slow, doing multiple warm up laps.

“It’s very difficult to see who’s pushing and who’s not, but that was clear. We were talking in the commentary box, Hamilton had purple first and second sectors.

“So, those four cars should have all been warned that he was coming at that speed. He’s trying to finish the lap. This is maybe his one opportunity to do it.

“I know in practice they’re not so tight on that, but that was pretty dangerous, because he’s just seeing a sea of lights. It must be impossible in the cockpit.”