Max fourth in first free practice GP Las Vegas

Published on 21 November 2025 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has finished fourth in theopening free practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The four-time world champion completed 23 laps, making it a productive Thursday afternoon during a busy yet incident-free session. Charles Leclerc was the practice's fastest man. His 1:34.8 time was three-tenths faster than Max’s best stint around the circuit. 

It’s 1:30 Central European Time when the lights go green at the end of the Las Vegas pitlane, signaling the start of the first free practice. On the street circuit, passing famous hotels and lucrative casinos, the drivers have returned for their third run on this legendary strip. The 6,201-meter circuit made its debut in 2023 — and shortly afterward, Max secured its first-ever victory. 2024 proved just as memorable; though he finished in fifth place, the result sealed his title as the Drivers’ Champion of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

After an eight minute wait, the four-time world champion makes his first appearance on track. In his first stint, he notes a 1:38.011 time on a set of mediums, a lap time quick enough to place him second on the timesheets. However, the track keeps improving and the drivers keep outdoing each other. Although the track starts off quite dirty, each pass from the drivers helps clean it up, gradually making it quicker. Twenty minutes into the session, Max’s second flying lap he improves to a 1:36.493, making him the fastest driver.

The track gets busier and busier. Most drivers choose to set multiple laps on mediums, including Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). He is the first to duck under 1:36.0, with an impressive 1:35.9 drive. Only after twelve laps does he return to the pitlane. Max, too, does a long first stint. After eleven rounds on the mediums, he returns to the pitlane, but not before having claimed the top spot on the timesheet in the meantime (1:35.776). His Oracle Red Bull-Racing teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, has a similarly strong start to his race weekend. On the mediums, he sets the fourth fastest time of the session, three-tenths slower than Max. Leclerc and George Russell (Mercedes) split the two Red Bulls.

In the second half of the session, multiple drivers head out on the soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) is the first to make the switch and promptly sets the session's fastest time with a 1:35.5 time. Teammate Leclerc also switches to softs and flies over the circuit, crossing the line three-tenths sooner than car 44. Max, too, heads out on the soft tyre. With a purple first and third sector, he soars over the finish line, back to the top of the timesheets. Leclerc goes on the attack to reclaim his lost position, but comes up short by just four-thousandths of a second. It’s Yuki Tsunoda who eventually improves on Max’s time, noting the session’s first 1:35.0.

Although the circuit is narrow with close walls, the training passes without incident. Many drivers shoot off the track, but are able to correct their cars and carry on without incident. One of these drivers is Lando Norris. In his first two flying laps on the soft tyre, he shoots off of the track at turn 12 both times. In the last ten minutes of training Max returns to the track on a pair of medium tyres. He sets seven laps, but doesn’t manage to improve his times. This leaves the Dutchman the fourth fastest man on track. At the closing of the session, it is Leclerc who has claimed the top position. In the closing phases, he managed to record a 1:34.8 time. Alex Alton (Williams) and Yuki Tsunoda complete the top three.

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Results first free practice Las Vegas: