Charles Leclerc was fastest in first practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver set a 34.802 in the final quarter of the session, which put him just over a tenth and a half ahead of Alex Albon. The session, however, was earlier than previous years after being brought forward by two hours in its third year; the first of three practice sessions started just after sunset around the gambling paradise’s famous Strip.
Given the street circuit is only used once a year, the session got off to a slow start as drivers battled with extremely low grip, using low downforce set-ups that further made their cars tricky to drive. Yuki Tsunoda put his Red Bull third as he went four hundredths faster than his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.
Leclerc and Verstappen were the early pace setters on both the hard and medium tyres as they traded lap times with just over a second worth of improvement throughout the session. Their former teammate Carlos Sainz was seven hundredths further behind, but the Williams driver was eight hundredths ahead of another former teammate and championship leader, Lando Norris.
Norris was four and a half tenths off Leclerc, as Isack Hadjar continued his consistent season, as he was four hundredths behind the Englishman, as he split the McLaren duo after going a tenth and a half ahead of Oscar Piastri. Norris has a twenty-four-point lead with a maximum of eighty-four remaining from the three Grands Prix and Sprint.
McLaren has been the class of the field this year but the street circuit on the Strip has not been a venue which has suited them in the previous two races staged here. Norris also ran wide at Fashion Show Mall (Turn Twelve) twice on his fast laps, one of the key corners as it starts the long run along The Strip.
McLaren’s low-key session further underlined pre-event expectations that McLaren may well struggle to compete for victory this weekend on a circuit that doesn’t reward its strengths.
Last year’s race winner, George Russell, was ninth as Mercedes completed the top ten, as the Englishman went four thousandths faster than teammate Kimi Antonelli. Just over seven and a quarter tenths covered the top ten.
Hamilton had been the first onto the softs that was when he set his best time of the session, but it was ultimately only good enough for eleventh, seven half-tenths off his teammate Leclerc as he missed out on the top ten by just under a quarter of a tenth.
Pierre Gasly was twelfth the Alpine just under three hundredths behind Hamilton, as he went over a tenth ahead of the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson. Fernando Alonso was nearly a tenth and a half ahead his teammate Lance Stroll, with the Haas duo nearly a tenth further behind. Ollie Bearman was nearly half a tenth faster than his teammate Esteban Ocon.
Nico Hulkenberg also led his Sauber teammate Gabreil Bortoletto by two and a quarter tenths. While Franco Colapinto completed the field, three and a half tenths further behind, with the whole field covered by just under two seconds.
