Rev Up for Las Vegas 2025: Your Ultimate GP Guide!
Lando Norris is firmly in the lead of the World Drivers' Championship now, but with 83 points left, a lot could still happen in the 2025 F1 season.
Coming up is the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the third edition of the race on the Las Vegas Strip. The event will be the 22nd race on the current calendar and the third in the US.
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 06: Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Second placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Third placed qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia.
McLaren's Norris leads the WDC with a 24-point gap over his teammate, Oscar Piastri, after convincingly winning the last two races. Meanwhile, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and his quest for a fifth straight title took a bit of a hit due to a poor Qualifying in Brazil, but he's 49 points behind and still has a chance.
Norris' wins at Mexico and Brazil now have him with seven victories in 2025, equalled to his teammate and two more than Verstappen. The only other driver with Grand Prix wins in 2025 is George Russell, with two.
While Norris and Verstappen both have consecutive races finishing on the podium (four for Norris and seven for the Dutchman), Oscar Piastri has struggled lately. The Australian has not finished on the podium over the last five races and has also been involved in three crashes during that span (two came in Sprint races).
The Australian desperately needs to stop his bad run and compete directly against his teammate, but time is running out.
Moreover, Norris himself expects McLaren to struggle at Las Vegas, which could mean that the upcoming weekend isn't the most ideal for Piastri's return to form. Last year, McLaren struggled in Las Vegas, finishing only sixth and seventh, which could prove disastrous this year.
2025 Las Vegas GP Facts & Figures
The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the 82nd Formula 1 World Championship race held in the United States (the second-biggest tally in history among countries) and the last of the trio of races in the country in 2025, after the Miami Grand Prix and the US GP at Austin.
The country hosted eight different GPs by title, including the Indianapolis 500 (11 between 1950 and 1960), US Grand Prix (four different eras since 1959), US Grand Prix West (eight between 1976 and 1983), a couple of Caesars Palace GPs in 1981 and 1982, Detroit GP (from 1982 to 1988), Dallas GP in 1984 and the Miami Grand Prix since 2022.
In 2023, the Las Vegas GP became the eighth different race celebrated in the US.
No other country has hosted more different GPs by name than the US, with Italy coming in second place with five (Italian, Pescara, San Marino, Tuscan and Emilia Romagna GP).
The United States has had 12 different circuits hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix, the most of any country.
Las Vegas hosted the Caesars Palace GP in 1981 and 1982 in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace Hotel. The races were won by Alan Jones and Michele Alboreto, driving for Williams and Tyrrell, respectively.
Max Verstappen won the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 from second on the grid.
In 2024, George Russell led Lewis Hamilton for a Mercedes 1-2.
Las Vegas Strip Circuit
The 6.201 km Las Vegas Strip Circuit has 17 corners and a huge straight of 1.900 km in the third sector that demands tremendous engine power and efficiency throughout the weekend.
Ahead of the inaugural race in 2023, Formula 1's official website gave a short review of the track: "Located in the heart of Las Vegas, the new 6.2km, 17-turn street circuit winds its way past iconic locations like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, and the Venetian. With average speeds expected to match Monza, otherwise known as F1’s ‘Temple of Speed’, there promises to be plenty of action and overtaking."
Saturday night's race will go for 50 laps and a distance of 309.958 km.
The first sector includes a twisty section for the first four corners, and it is then followed by a shorter straight and a 90-degree right-hander, Turn 5, that will send cars into another twisty section formed from corners six to nine. Then, the circuit has two fast corners, Turns 10 and 11. The big acceleration zone, which includes the second DRS area in sector 3, goes from Turn 12 to 14.
The final section of the track includes an 800m straight that has a high-speed left-hander that will send cars into the start-finish zone to complete the lap.
In 2024, George Russell took Pole Position with a lap time of 1:32.312. In the race, Lando Norris set the Fastest Lap with 1:34.876.
2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Tyres
The dry tyres for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.
Pirelli explained its view for the upcoming event with a press release: "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 tyre temperature management, especially during qualifying.
"The fact 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 prior to 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."
In 2024
"All but four drivers chose to start on the Medium. Fernando Alonso went for the Soft, while Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and, starting from pit lane Franco Colapinto, preferred the Hard.
"With almost the entire field having saved two sets of the harder compounds, the two-stop was the preferred strategy, drivers pushing tyres to the limit rather than having to manage them carefully.
"Degradation was minimal, as was wear, while graining appeared mainly on the Mediums used in the first stint."
The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 28.0 PSI (front) and 26.0 PSI (rear).
2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Weather Forecast
Local time
Thursday, Nov. 20th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Cloudy; a shower in spots in the evening followed by occasional rain and drizzle late
Max. temperature: 9°C
Chance of rain: 89%
Friday, Nov 21st - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: A couple of evening showers; otherwise, overcast
Max. temperature: 10°C
Chance of rain: 60%
Saturday, Nov 22nd - Race
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 10°C
Chance of rain: 7%
Who will be on the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix Podium?
Mercedes dominated in 2024 in the cold of Las Vegas. The team is also coming off a strong outing in Brazil, with Kimi Antonelli full of confidence.
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Saturday - Jiri Krenek
George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 last year in what is still Lewis Hamilton's most recent Grand Prix podium. Can Russell strike back and make it consecutive wins in Las Vegas? We'd bet on it.
McLaren's camp has expressed concerns for the upcoming race in Las Vegas, which could prompt a solid weekend for Red Bull, even without winning the race. Max Verstappen will certainly be in contention for the win, although he also struggled in Las Vegas last year, finishing only fifth, although he secured his fourth championship.
Can Ferrari regain some form? The car has been unpredictable in 2025, and luck hasn't normally smiled at the Maranello-based team at times. Leclerc would love to conquer the win that went away from him in 2023, while Hamilton would be ecstatic with a repeat of his 2024 race in Las Vegas.
The prediction for the top three of the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix is 1. George Russell, 2. Kimi Antonelli, 3. Max Verstappen.
5 F1 Fan comments on “Rev Up for Las Vegas 2025: Your Ultimate GP Guide!”
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we should have an auto-fest or racing car salon.
For once, my top-three prediction exactly matches this site's GP guide article, as I’m also positive Mercedes will again be the team to beat, with George having the upper hand after being the slower one in the intra-team comparison in the last round, with Red Bull Racing having better outright pace than the McLarens in Max’s control.
Thanks Jere for being brave enough (as usual) to venture a prediction
It's very cold right? I hope very can have good weekend for once and say 1. Leclerc, 2. Verstappen, 3. Hamilton
Russell, Verstappen, Norris