Las Vegas, Nevada – Charles Leclerc set the pace in first practice for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, while both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, encountered challenges during the session.
The opening practice session offered a first glimpse of performance on the newly resurfaced Las Vegas Strip Circuit, but is expected to be unrepresentative of the weekend’s overall running order due to track conditions. The session is particularly meaningful as teams gather initial data on tyre performance and car setup for the unique high-speed layout.
Norris had a tough session, twice running off track at Turn 14 at the end of the Strip on consecutive laps as he searched for speed. He also made contact with the wall earlier in the session, fortunately without causing significant damage to his McLaren.
Piastri, currently 24 points behind Norris in the championship standings, also experienced an off-track excursion at Turns Eight and Nine around the Sphere. The Australian finished the session 0.192 seconds slower than his teammate, a performance gap that has been consistent in recent races.
Norris has closed the gap to Piastri in the championship battle, gaining 58 points over the last six races and establishing himself as a strong contender for the title.
While Leclerc was consistently fast, Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton ended the session 0.759 seconds behind. Carlos Sainz of Williams was fifth fastest, with Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls in seventh and George Russell of mercedes in ninth. Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton completed the top ten.
Track conditions are expected to improve substantially as more rubber is laid down during subsequent practice sessions. Second practice is scheduled for 04:00 GMT.
