Charles Leclerc set the benchmark in opening F1 Las Vegas GP practice ahead of Alex Albon as McLaren suffered a slow start to the Formula 1 weekend.
The session unfolded under challenging conditions, marked by a dusty track surface that initially tested all twenty drivers as they sought to familiarize themselves with the demanding street circuit under the late-autumn conditions.
The one-hour session began with French driver Isack Hadjar setting the first conservative lap time of 1:46.042, signaling drivers to exercise caution as they adapted to the unusual track conditions.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, however, adapted more swiftly than others and emerged as the fastest driver in the final 15 minutes, logging a remarkable 1:34.802s on soft tyres to clinch the top spot.
This marked a significant display of pace as the Monesgaque edged out Williams’ Alex Albon by 0.166 seconds, who finished second after an impressive performance.
Rounding out the top three was Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda who made a rare appearance ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen who clocked the fourth fastest lap.
Other noteworthy performances included Carlos Sainz in the Williams who finished fifth, highlighting the capability of his team on the strip circuit.
However, amid the flashes of speed from some of the grid’s top performers, McLaren faced a tougher session than they had hoped with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri only managing sixth and eighth positions respectively, well off the leaders’ times.
Full 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix FP1 Results
Norris struggled with his rhythm during the session, going off-track several times, including lightly clipping the wall midway through the session.
Additionally, the Formula 1 championship leader lost valuable time in the pits as McLaren engineers examined a suspected issue with the floor of his car.
Meanwhile, Piastri spent time evaluating new rear wing specifications aimed at improving performance on the track’s long straights and low downforce demands.
The team Papaya duo was split by rookie Isack Hadjar who delivered a respectable seventh fastest lap for Racing Bulls, narrowly beating Piastri by a fraction of a second.
Mercedes also had a subdued opening F1 Las Vegas GP practice with both George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli taking ninth and tenth, respectively.
The Brackley based outfit appeared to be conserving their car’s potential, perhaps planning to unleash it in later sessions when conditions may favor a more aggressive setup.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton ended the session down in 11th place with a time of 1:35.561. His debut weekend with Ferrari at Las Vegas started without incident but the session results showed that the team may need to find more outright pace to challenge for the very front on this occasion.
Pierre Gasly was 12th for Alpine, followed by Liam Lawson in 13th for Racing Bulls, while Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took 14th and 15th places.
Haas pair Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon were 16th and 17th, respectively, indicating more development work will be needed to close gaps to midfield rivals.
At the back of the field, the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were 18th and 19th, as Alpine’s Franco Colapinto rounded out the grid in 20th.
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