Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris share FP1 and FP2 sessions in Las Vegas GP on Thursday evening, which included drizzle during the second session.
FP1 –
Charles Leclerc set the pace in Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver finishing ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda. Leclerc posted a 1m 34.802s which left him 0.166s clear of Albon, with Tsunoda less than three-tenths behind during a session where championship rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri never featured towards the top of the times.
All 20 drivers took to the high-speed, low-downforce circuit inside the opening 10 minutes, with the cold temperatures and a dirty but dry track surface offering a challenge from the outset of the one-hour session. Small slides from Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman caught the eye early on, while Norris and Pierre Gasly had slightly more wayward moments, taking to the run-off areas briefly at Turns 7 and 12 respectively.
Leclerc and Max Verstappen proved to be the pacesetters from the outset, the Ferrari driver the first to set a sub 1m 36s lap with a 1m 35.954s on the medium Pirelli tyre after 20 minutes, before Verstappen lowered the benchmark by less than two-tenths. Teams switched focus to running the soft compound of tyre for the second phase of the session, with Hamilton the first of the leading runners to use the red-walled tyres, registering a 1m 35.561s which was quickly beaten by team mate Leclerc.
Drivers continued to explore the limits, Piastri and Fernando Alonso the next to run wide at Turns 7 and 12 as track position proved to be at a premium at times around the 3.85-mile circuit.
Verstappen continued his duel with Leclerc for bragging rights, the four-time World Champion going fastest with a 1m 35.109s, just 0.004s clear of the Ferrari driver’s latest effort before Tsunoda briefly jumped to the top with 15 minutes remaining. Norris, who survived an early brush with the wall on the exit of Turn 9, was the next to run deep at Turn 12 twice in succession, the Drivers’ Championship leader struggling for outright performance.
Leclerc became the first driver to set a sub 1m 35s lap – a 1m 34.802s – which left him fastest at the chequered flag from Albon, who had a big lock-up at the end of the session into the heavy braking zone of Turn 12. Tsunoda headed Verstappen by less than one-tenth, as Williams’ Carlos Sainz finished ahead of the McLarens of Norris and Piastri, with Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls splitting the title rivals.
George Russell, the winner in Las Vegas 12 months ago, finished ninth ahead of Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton in 11th was seven-tenths adrift of Leclerc. Alpine’s Gasly headed the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and the Aston Martins of Alonso and Lance Stroll. The Haas’ of Bearman and Esteban Ocon, the Kick Sauber’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto (Alpine) completed the order in a uninterrupted session.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1991681117485719861?s=20
FP2 –
Lando Norris finished fastest in Free Practice 2 ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Drivers’ Championship leader heading the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the latter suffering a late mechanical issue. Norris, who heads into this weekend with a 24-point lead over McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri after taking back-to-back wins, posted a 1m 33.602s as two red flags for track maintenance caused disrupted running for many at the end of the session.
With a sprinkle of rain having lightly dampened the circuit between the day’s two one-hour sessions, teams were hesitant to send cars out initially, the clock reaching five minutes before for the first drivers started to appear. Although drivers were on the slick compound of tyres, the cold temperatures and added moisture made conditions tricky, with Ollie Bearman reporting over the radio that the track was slippery and lap times were several seconds adrift from the outright pace in FP1 to begin with.
Times soon began to tumble though, Lewis Hamilton posting a 1m 35.338s just after the 15-minute mark to go fastest despite a close call with Nico Hulkenberg’s Kick Sauber down the back straight into the braking zone of Turn 14. After a quiet FP1 by McLaren’s 2025 standards, Norris and Piastri came to the fore for the first time in Las Vegas, both briefly jumping to the top of the times before George Russell claimed top spot with a 1m 34.430s on the medium Pirelli tyre – the best lap from the day’s running up to that point.
Norris became the first driver to dip below the 1m 34s barrier – posting a 1m 33.943s – before having a big lock-up and running deep at Turn 14, the Briton’s time also beaten by Leclerc’s 1m 33.763s before the halfway point of the session. Focus soon switched towards Qualifying simulations on the soft tyre, with Kimi Antonelli and then Norris moving to the top of the times, the latter on a 1m 33.602s before the red flag was deployed with just over 20 minutes remaining.
After a track inspection, the session resumed with just over five minutes remaining, prompting a flurry of activity in the pit lane as drivers rushed to head out for some final flying laps. But there was further late drama for Leclerc, who pulled off the track with a gearbox issue having been told not to shift over the radio by his engineer, before another red flag was deployed to bring the session to an end.
It left Norris fastest, 0.029s clear of Antonelli, with Leclerc third on the medium tyre, followed by Hulkenberg and the two Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, all who managed to post laps on the soft tyre. Russell, Alex Albon (Williams), Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) completed the top 10, with only Albon posting his lap on the soft compound.
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) headed Piastri, the McLaren driver 14th but unable to register a lap on the soft tyre because of the delays. The order was completed by Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Bearman, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber).
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1991733787366134150?s=20
[The story is as per press release]