Charles Leclerc Fires To The Top In Dusty Las Vegas GP Opening Practice

The weekend of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was initiated fabulously by Charles Leclerc, who was the fastest driver in the first practice session, followed by Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda. The driver of Ferrari gave a brilliant lap at the end of the session on soft tyres, recording a time of 1m34.802s in the final moments of the one-hour session, taking the first position.

Albon was one of the evening’s surprises as he managed to put his Williams car only 0.166s behind Leclerc. On the other hand, Tsunoda also managed to be a strong candidate for Red Bull as he finished ahead of teammate Max Verstappen.

A Tricky Start On A Dusty Circuit 

For the third year, the Las Vegas timetable was pushed forward by two hours; thus, FP1 was held soon after sunset on the famous Strip. The grip was very limited due to the 6.2km track being used only once a year, which gave a cautious and slippery beginning for all the teams.

Slowly, drivers managed to control their unstable cars with the help of the low downforce setups, especially in the fast corners. Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto were among the early ones to go off-track, and they showed how difficult it was to drive on the surface as the drivers tried to find confidence.

Ferrari Finds Pace Early 

There was a short pause in the session before the drivers of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, and then Charles Leclerc all switched their tyres to Pirelli’s soft C5 compound. As soon as their new tyres were on, they went to the top of the timesheet, with Leclerc being the first to set a 1m35.121s lap time. Verstappen managed to take the lead for a split second with a time of 1m35.109s, but then Leclerc came back with an incredible 1m34.802s that was even faster than the FP1 record set last year.

Strong Showing Throughout The Field 

• Alex Albon, Williams: An unexpected but remarkable second position
• Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull: Steady speed paid off with a third place
• Max Verstappen: Rounded up the top four
• Carlos Sainz, Williams: The team’s good performance was further confirmed by the fifth position

McLaren’s Lando Norris, after two off-track exits at Turn 12, managed to finish sixth, just a little ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri. Neither Mercedes nor McLaren was very impressive during the sessions, which mirrored the expectation that this circuit might not be very favorable for their cars.

A Challenging Weekend Ahead

McLaren’s somewhat subdued beginning hints that the crew will possibly experience a difficult situation during the weekend, particularly on the track that does not correspond with its usual advantages. Teams looking to fight against Ferrari and Red Bull will consider FP2 and FP3 as the most important sessions as grip is anticipated to get better with more rubber laid down.

A Note For The Khelo24race Community 

Las Vegas streets are and will always be unpredictable, as today’s FP1 showed. Leclerc drove like a king – and this may change the forecast for qualifying and the Sunday showdown. Keep an eye on how teams adapt: this one could be a turning point.