Overview
- Charles Leclerc set the FP1 benchmark at 1:34.802, with Alex Albon second, Yuki Tsunoda third and Max Verstappen fourth.
- Lando Norris was sixth and Oscar Piastri eighth after off-track moments on the slippery Strip Circuit, where McLaren have historically underperformed.
- Norris leads the drivers’ standings by 24 points over Piastri with three races left and 83 points available.
- Verstappen trails by 49 points and will be out of title contention unless he outscores Norris by nine or more in Las Vegas, a fightback he says would take "a lot of luck."
- Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc downplayed chairman John Elkann’s recent criticism, describing it as a push to improve ahead of the weekend.