Norris tops FP2 in Las Vegas as red flags disrupt session
F1 Drivers’ Championship leader Lando Norris topped the timesheet in the second free practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, though red flags in the second half of the session meant that some of his main rivals didn’t complete qualifying sims on Soft compound tyres. Norris ended the session 0.029s ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.
At the start of the session, largely run on Medium tyres, it was Verstappen who led the way. The Red Bull driver posted a time of 1:36.029 which stood as the fastest time as the quart-hour mark approached. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli then took P1 with a time of 1:35.738 before team-mate Russell stretched ahead with a lap of 1:35.066s.
Antonelli reeled his team-mate in, closing to within a tenth, but couldn’t rise above Russell but both Mercedes drivers were shuffled back by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who moved to P1 with a lap of 1:34.740. He was quickly demoted by team-mate Lando Norris but Russell was finding more time and he reclaimed top spot with a lap of 1:34.713.
With the track conditions still rapidly evolving and fuel loads dropping at the end of Medium tyre runs, the times continued to fall and Leclerc climbed back to the top with a lap of 1:33.763 set 10 laps into his run.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson then bolted on a set of Soft tyres and the New Zealander jumped to second place. The rest of the field also began to make the move to the C5 tyres and Norris moved to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:33.602. Antonelli slotted into P2, just 0.029s off the championship leader, with Leclerc moving to third, 0.161s behind Norris.
With a purple time in Sector 1 Russell looked set to challenge Norris’ time but his lap was halted by a red flag, as a marshal reported a possible loose drain cover in Turn 17 and with Race Control unable to verify the status of the cover on CCTV the session was stopped for a physical inspection.
The session resumed with six minutes left on the clock and the bulk of drivers immediately headed out on track.
There was immediate trouble for Leclerc, however. The Ferrari driver was slow out of the pit lane and after trundling through the opening corners he eventually pulled into an escape road at Turn telling his engineer that “something has broken”.
There was chance for any of the Monegasque driver’s rivals to find an improvement, however. As Leclerc climbed out of his stricken car the red flags were shown again, with Race Control reporting that its personnel had remained on site at Turn 17 and observed the manhole cover moving as cars passed over it. Further inspections were carried out after the red flags and maintenance undertaken.
That left Norris, perhaps somewhat fortunately, at the top of the timesheet ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc.
Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg ended the session in fourth place ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and his team-mate Liam Lawson. Russell was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Red Bull’s Max Verstappena and the 10th-placed Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:33.602 13 238.494
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33.631 0.029 18 238.421
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.763 0.161 16 238.085
4 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:33.879 0.277 14 237.791
5 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:33.893 0.291 16 237.755
6 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:33.901 0.299 16 237.735
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.037 0.435 18 237.391
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:34.067 0.465 17 237.315
9 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:34.105 0.503 16 237.220
10 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:34.127 0.525 17 237.164
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:34.191 0.589 15 237.003
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:34.373 0.771 18 236.546
13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:34.435 0.833 16 236.391
14 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.493 0.891 12 236.246
15 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:34.692 1.090 16 235.749
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:34.824 1.222 18 235.421
17 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:34.986 1.384 17 235.019
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.012 1.410 14 234.955
19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:35.228 1.626 18 234.422
20 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:35.499 1.897 15 233.757
Leclerc tops opening practice in Las Vegas ahead of Albon and Tsunoda
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix with Williams' Alex Albon in second place ahead of Red Bull Racing's Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen. Championship leader Lando Norris was sixth with title rival McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastrin P8.
On a dusty, dirty track surface Isack Hadjar was the first to post a time with the French driver crossing the line in a conservative 1:46.042. His Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson was also on track and the New Zealander was soon on the radio to tell his pit wall that the ‘green’ track was “so slippery”.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz took over at the top of the order thanks to a Medium-tyres time of 1:41.164. He was soon dislodged by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and then by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who posted a time of 1:39.733 to move up to P1.
Hadjar then returned to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:39.415 before being dislodged by Sainz who went six hundredths of a second quicker. The Racing Bulls driver responded, however, and once again made his way to P1 with a lap of 1:38.753.
With grip improving steadily, the lap times continued to drop and after Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc and Hadjar all cycled through top spot Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg then dropped the benchmark to 1:37.370, on the Hard tyre.
It was then the turn of Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda who posted a lap of 1:37.094 but the Japanese driver was ousted by title contending team-mate Max Verstappen who took top spot with a lap of 1:36.493 before working his way down to 1:35.776, but attention was focused on championship leader Lando Norris who clipped a barrier with his right rear wheel. The Briton was able to continue, however.
With the halfway mark in sight the field began to move to performance runs on Soft tyres. With the red-banded tyres on board his Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton immediately jumped to P1 with a lap of 1:35.561. However, he was quickly ousted by Leclerc who hit the top with a lap of 1:35.281, which he then lowered to 1:35.121.
Verstappen had also bolted on a set of Softs and the four-time champion made his way back to P1 with a time of 1:35.109. However, he was once again pushed back by team-mate Tsunoda who posted a lap of 1:35.071.
There was no denying Leclerc, however, and he moved back to the top for the final time in the session with a lap of 1:34.802.
Williams’ Alex Albon delivered a late lap of 1:34.968 to rise above Tsunoda who ended the session in in P3, 0.269s off Leclerc, while Verstappen finished fourth ahead of Sainz.
Norris initially failed to post a clean lap on the Softs but he eventually logged a lap of 1:35.258 to finish in sixth place, almost half a second off Leclerc.
Isack Hadjar took seventh for Racing Bulls ahead of title contender Oscar Piastri, while Mercedes’ George Russell took ninth ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.802 29 235.476
2 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:34.968 0.166 23 235.064
3 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:35.071 0.269 27 234.809
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:35.109 0.307 24 234.715
5 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:35.179 0.377 31 234.543
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.258 0.456 25 234.348
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:35.299 0.497 30 234.247
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.450 0.648 27 233.877
9 George Russell Mercedes 1:35.534 0.732 25 233.671
10 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:35.538 0.736 30 233.661
11 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:35.561 0.759 26 233.605
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:35.589 0.787 26 233.537
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:35.709 0.907 28 233.244
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.746 0.944 23 233.154
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.894 1.092 25 232.794
16 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:35.990 1.188 28 232.561
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:36.123 1.321 30 232.239
18 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:36.170 1.368 25 232.126
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:36.398 1.596 25 231.577
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:36.758 1.956 28 230.71
