Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix with Alex Albon second fastest as Yuki Tsunoda was third.
Leclerc posted a 1:34.802 to go fastest, 0.166s clear of Albon in second as Tsunoda was third fastest, 0.269s off the pace and 0.038s faster than teammate, Max Verstappen who was fourth in the sister Red Bull.
The session stated in cold conditions as the track was green with all driver struggling for grip, as lap times kept dropping with every lap driver around the Las Vegas track.
But it was clear that Ferrari, with Leclerc seemed to be in good form which was expected while seven-time Formula 1 Champion, Lewis Hamilton was only 11th in the sister car.
And while the result of FP1 bodes well for Ferrari, it may be too soon to call them favorites as Red Bull Racing looked good as well and while Verstappen was slowed than Tsunoda, the Dutchman did his best lap before his teammate, while Albon, for example, went for a flyer towards the end when the track was better, hence his second place.
Carlos Sainz, in the sister Williams, was fifth fastest, 0.377s off the best time and ahead of the F1 Drivers' Championship leader, Lando Norris was only sixth, 0.456s slower than Leclerc.
The Briton has been playing down his chances of delivering a strong result this weekend in Vegas and the early signs show he may well be right as he was all over the place during FP1 with teammate Oscar Piastri not doing any better as he finished the session down in eighth, six and half tenths off the pace as Isack Hadjar split the Papaya Cars to go seventh fastest.
George Russell, winner of the 2024 Las Vegas GP, was down in ninth as Kimi Antonello was tenth fastest.
Buildup towards FP1
While Verstappen secured a fourth consecutive F1 Drivers' Championship in Las Vegas last year, this year's race will also be crucial for him as he seeks to keep his title challenge to Norris and Piastri alive as long as possible.
The Dutchman needs to be in touch with Norris who, in turn, needs to stretch his lead over the Red Bull Racing ace by nine points to make sure the Championship battle is a Papaya affair in the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the former being a Sprint weekend.
But the Briton has been downplaying his chances around the Las Vegas Strip based on historical performances from McLaren whose car doesn't seem to work well there while Ferrari and Mercedes will also be in the mix and play a role over the course of the weekend.
As for tyres, Pirelli have brought their softer compounds this weekend starting with the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).
As for the teams several have brought special liveries to this weekend's race at Sin City with Williams, Sauber, Alpine, Racing Bulls, all revealing one-off paint job to their cars.
The weather may also play a role with chances of rain and lower temperatures than expected which should also play into the hands of McLarens rivals.
The running schedule in Vegas this year has been modified, with all track sessions brought forward to hours earlier in the day which means FP1 will happen in the final hours of daylight.
FP1 Session Highlights
The session started in cloudy conditions which were cold as well with air temperature at 14 degrees Celsius while track temperatures registered 19 degrees.
Hadjar made his way out on track first as the session was given the green light. He had the Medium tyres on his car as Leclerc followed with the yellow-walled tyres bolted to his Ferrari as well.
Antonelli joined soon after as more drivers started making their way out on track which was clearly green and dusty.
Indeed, Liam Lawson reports: "It's so slippery."
McLaren drivers remained in the garages as Norris was having a rear wing changed opting for a higher downforce setup than his teammate, Piastri as the team were looking to compare setups.
Seven minutes into the session and Verstappen finally made his way out on track with Norris soon following him.
Hamilton then had a slight drift coming out of Turn 1. Nicely handled by the seven-time F1 champ.
Drivers went on putting in the laps and putting down some rubber as the lap times kept dropping with the track evolving and names continuously changing at the top of the timing screens.
Ollie Bearman went out of shape going into Turn 7 but managed to keep his car pointing in the right direction while Albon boxed his black Williams as mechanics rushed to work on it apparently trying to fix an issue with the engine cover off the car.
Albon was soon back on his way.
Pierre Gasly then suffered a slide into Turn 12 and ended up in the run-off area. He was soon back on his way. Norris also went off but at Turn 7.
Twenty minutes into the session, Hadjar reported a stone in his cockpit moving around from under his leg to under the pedal. But he kept going.
The Gabriel Bortoleto locked up and went off at Turn 7 while Norris soon after reported he hit the wall. He boxed for a quick look by the McLaren mechanics who sent him back on his way.
Replay showed he hit the wall in Turn 9 with his right rear tyre.
Lance Stroll ended up in the run-off area of Turn 12 while Antonelli had a moment at Turn 7.
Hadjar then was impeded by Albon and wasn't happy gesturing at the Thai driver in classic Hadjar fashion. The Williams driver waved in apology though.
With 30 minutes remaining, the order was: Verstappen - Leclerc - Russell - Tsunoda - Sainz - Hamilton - Piastri - Antonelli - Stroll - Albon - Lawson - Norris - Alonso - Esteban Ocon - Hadjar.
Then the Soft tyre made its debut with Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber as other drivers followed suit.
Piastri had a snap of oversteer at Turn 7 while Fernando Alonso missed Turn 14 and ended up in the run-off area.
At this point it was officially night running - the second half of the session.
Hamilton then became the latest driver to mess up Turn 12, ending up in the run-off area. No contact though. Then Norris does the same at the same place on his first attempt on Softs.
Norris went for another lap and ran wide again at the same place... His engineer came over the radio offering some advice.
With the cold temperature, the Soft tyres stayed in good shape as the drivers went on banging in the laps on them.
Bearman then brought out a brief Yellow flag as he went deep into Turn 12 and in the run-off area. Lawson then ended up in the same place as well as Albon who also had a moment at Turn 7.
The session was concluded with practice starts.
Las Vegas GP FP1 Classification
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