2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Fast Facts

Luck won’t have much to do with the outcome of the race, even if it takes place in the city often referred to as “the gambling capital of the world.” The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the last of three rounds of this year’s world championship to be held in the United States, before the season comes to a close with the final two races in the Middle East. The timetable sees the action get underway a day earlier than standard, the sessions taking place at night under floodlights.

Therefore, the first two free practice sessions are scheduled for Thursday, with the final one followed by qualifying on Friday, while the Grand Prix itself takes place on Saturday night. All sessions will start two hours earlier than they did last year.

The Nevadan event has already delivered exciting races with plenty of overtaking, thanks to the track layout, which includes a run down the famous Strip.

The Compounds

For the third consecutive year, the compounds chosen for the Las Vegas street circuit are the C3, C4 and C5. One of the main challenges will be managing tyre temperature, especially during qualifying. The fact that the sessions are running earlier this year will help the drivers, as conditions won’t be quite as cold, thus helping tyre warm-up.

However, the preparation lap before the flying lap will still be crucial to get the tyres up into the right temperature window. Furthermore, this year’s tyres have improved mechanical properties, which should see a reduction in degradation, which was particularly noticeable on the medium compound last year.

The decision not to go for a softer trio was down to the risk of graining, prevalent since the first edition of this race, which could excessively compromise the efficiency of the softest compound in the current range.

The Track

The race is run over 50 laps of the Las Vegas circuit, which has 17 corners and is unique because of the speeds attained and its technical layout. At 6.201 kilometres, it is the second longest on the calendar after Spa and one of the fastest in terms of average lap speed. In 2024, Alex Albon in his Williams hit the highest top speed of the season (368 km/h) on the straight between turns 12 and 14. At the latter corner, drivers experience very strong deceleration when braking, and it is one of the best overtaking opportunities.

Almost 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle, the cars passing famous landmarks such as the Venetian and Caesars Palace, which hosted the first two Las Vegas GPs. For those races in 1981 and 1982, the track was laid out in a parking lot, whereas today it runs through the main streets of the city, which means street furniture and oil residue from normal traffic reduce grip levels. Therefore, track evolution over the course of the weekend is expected to be particularly high.

The Stats

This will be the third edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to take place on the Strip and the fifth time in total that a round of the Formula 1 world championship has been held in the gambling capital. In 1981 and 1982 a race was run in the Caesars Palace parking lot. The inaugural race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, held in 2023, was won by Max Verstappen, while George Russell won last year, starting from pole position.

How to Watch the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula 1 fans around the globe can catch all the action from the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix through various broadcasters and streaming services.

In the United Kingdom, viewers can watch every session live on Sky Sports F1, with comprehensive coverage of the practice sessions, qualifying, and the race itself.

For fans in the United States, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be available through ESPN and its associated channels. ESPN offers extensive coverage of F1, including live broadcasts and replays. Cord-cutters can also stream the race live through various over-the-top (OTT) services that carry ESPN channels.

Viewers in Australia can tune in to watch the Grand Prix weekend unfold live on Fox Sports, which offers complete coverage of F1 races. For online streaming, fans can subscribe to Kayo Sports, a streaming platform that includes all Fox Sports content.

Additionally, F1 TV Pro offers live streaming of every track session to viewers in many countries worldwide.

This subscription service provides access to onboard cameras, team radios, live timing, and more, for an immersive viewing experience.

Remember to check the local listings and services for the most up-to-date information regarding broadcast times and availability in your region.

Las Vegas Grand Prix Fast Facts

• Formula One returned to Las Vegas for the first time in over 40 years in 2023.
• The sport’s previous visits to ‘Sin City’ took place in 1981 and 1982 under the moniker of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
• Each edition was that year’s season finale with the Williams of Alan Jones taking victory in 1981 and the Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto victorious in 1982.
• The current layout has 17 corners, 11 to the left and six to the right.
• The 6.201km track runs anticlockwise, and blasts through the most famous streets of Las Vegas including the Strip at high speed.
• The track is the second-longest on the 2025 calendar, only shorter than Spa-Francorchamps.
• That includes a section over 1.9 km long from the exit of Turn 12 to the braking zone at Turn 14, which is taken completely flat.
• The 112-metre run from pole position to the first braking zone is the second shortest of the year. Only Baku in Azerbaijan (at 89m) has a shorter run.
• Speeds around the Strip circuit in Las Vegas are some of the fastest of the year, reaching nearly 350km/h.
• The set-up trade-off is ensuring that top speeds are not compromised whilst the car retains good mechanical grip and downforce for the low-speed corners, such as Turns 1-4, Turns 7-9, Turn 12, and Turns 14-16.
• With track and air temperatures only reaching the mid-teens, Las Vegas is again expected to be the coldest race of the year for teams and drivers.
• In 2025, Las Vegas will be the only race to be held on a Saturday in the country the Grand Prix is taking place.
• George Russell took his third F1 win at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. He also started on pole and led home a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Silver Arrows led all 50 laps that night.
• Las Vegas 2025 will be George Russell’s 150th F1 Grand Prix, the first coming in Australia in 2019.
• For the first time in 2025, F1 ACADEMY will join the F1 support bill in Las Vegas. The series will hold its seventh and final round of the season around the streets of Las Vegas.
• This weekend in Las Vegas marks the 150th Grand Prix for the technical partnership between Honda and Oracle Red Bull Racing.