Ferrari top in eventful first Las Vegas session

F1 cars took to the streets of Las Vegas for the first time this year on Thursday night, spending much of their hour of free practice clearing dust and dirt from the circuit.

FP1 is rarely especially representative of teams’ form at any given track as they dial into the weekend’s track, but drawing conclusions from the early running at Las Vegas is especially futile.

As if to illustrate that point, Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda set the three fastest times of the session, with the championship contenders slotting into the pack behind them.

Neither of McLaren‘s title-challenging drivers had flawless sessions, with Lando Norris tapping the wall on corner exit and Oscar Piastri overcooking a corner and heading through a run-off area.

As the 10 teams tested out various downforce settings out in the Nevada desert, they also cleared the first of the natural debris off the track; the only one of the season which has its normal day-to-day traffic on it in the daytime between sessions.

A number of drivers found the limits of grip and made good use of the run-off areas littered around the course as they worked to warm their tyres, but nobody appeared to pick up any damage outside of some flat-spotted tyres.

F1 FP1 Results: Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025