Ferrari's Charles Leclerc went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix with Williams' Alex Albon in second place ahead of Red Bull Racing's Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen. Championship leader Lando Norris was sixth with title rival McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastrin P8. 

On a dusty, dirty track surface Isack Hadjar was the first to post a time with the French driver crossing the line in a conservative 1:46.042. His Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson was also on track and the New Zealander was soon on the radio to tell his pit wall that the ‘green’ track was “so slippery”.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz took over at the top of the order thanks to a Medium-tyres time of 1:41.164. He was soon dislodged by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and then by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who posted a time of 1:39.733 to move up to P1. 

Hadjar then returned to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:39.415 before being dislodged by Sainz who went six hundredths of a second quicker. The Racing Bulls driver responded, however, and once again made his way to P1 with a lap of 1:38.753.

With grip improving steadily, the lap times continued to drop and after Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc and Hadjar all cycled through top spot Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg then dropped the benchmark to 1:37.370, on the Hard tyre.

It was then the turn of Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda who posted a lap of 1:37.094 but the Japanese driver was ousted by title contending team-mate Max Verstappen who took top spot with a lap of 1:36.493 before working his way down to 1:35.776, but attention was focused on championship leader Lando Norris who clipped a barrier with his right rear wheel. The Briton was able to continue, however. 

With the halfway mark in sight the field began to move to performance runs on Soft tyres. With the red-banded tyres on board his Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton immediately jumped to P1 with a lap of 1:35.561. However, he was quickly ousted by Leclerc who hit the top with a lap of 1:35.281, which he then lowered to 1:35.121. 

Verstappen had also bolted on a set of Softs and the four-time champion made his way back to P1 with a time of 1:35.109. However, he was once again pushed back by team-mate Tsunoda who posted a lap of 1:35.071. 

There was no denying Leclerc, however, and he moved back to the top for the final time in the session with a lap of 1:34.802.

Williams’ Alex Albon delivered a late lap of 1:34.968 to rise above Tsunoda who ended the session in in P3, 0.269s off Leclerc, while Verstappen finished fourth ahead of Sainz. 

Norris initially failed to post a clean lap on the Softs but he eventually logged a lap of 1:35.258 to finish in sixth place, almost half a second off Leclerc. 

Isack Hadjar took seventh for Racing Bulls ahead of title contender Oscar Piastri, while Mercedes’ George Russell took ninth ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.802 29 235.476
2 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:34.968 0.166 23 235.064
3 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:35.071 0.269 27 234.809
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:35.109 0.307 24 234.715
5 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:35.179 0.377 31 234.543
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.258 0.456 25 234.348
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:35.299 0.497 30 234.247
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.450 0.648 27 233.877
9 George Russell Mercedes 1:35.534 0.732 25 233.671
10 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:35.538 0.736 30 233.661
11 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:35.561 0.759 26 233.605
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:35.589 0.787 26 233.537
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:35.709 0.907 28 233.244
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.746 0.944 23 233.154
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.894 1.092 25 232.794
16 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:35.990 1.188 28 232.561
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:36.123 1.321 30 232.239
18 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:36.170 1.368 25 232.126
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:36.398 1.596 25 231.577
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:36.758 1.956 28 230.71