19–21 Nov · Las Vegas · Round 21
Weekend previewLas Vegas Grand Prix 2026 predictions
A Saturday-night race down the Strip, where getting the tyres warm is the main problem, a year after both McLarens were disqualified.
- Practice 1
- Thu 19 Nov, 16:30
- Practice 2
- Thu 19 Nov, 20:00
- Practice 3
- Fri 20 Nov, 16:30
- Qualifying
- Fri 20 Nov, 20:00
- Grand Prix
- Sat 21 Nov, 20:00
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit
The lap is 6.201 km with 17 corners, the second longest on the calendar after Spa, and the Grand Prix runs for 50 laps. Almost 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle. In 2024 Alex Albon reached 368 km/h between Turns 12 and 14, the highest top speed of that season, and the heavy braking into Turn 14 is one of the best places to overtake. Pirelli’s circuit notes (opens in a new tab).
The track uses public roads, past the Venetian and Caesars Palace. Street furniture and oil left by everyday traffic cut the grip, so lap times improve a lot over the weekend. Pirelli’s 2025 preview (opens in a new tab).
Getting the tyres warm is the hard part
Several races run at night, but none has as big a drop in temperature from day to night, because Las Vegas sits in the Mojave desert. The November date makes it colder still. Pirelli expected air temperatures of around 10°C in 2024, with the track not much warmer. Cold tyres are hardest to bring up to temperature in qualifying, and at the front in particular. They cool further along the long straights, which makes lock-ups more likely at the braking points at the end of them. Pirelli’s 2024 preview (opens in a new tab).
Pirelli brought C3, C4 and C5 for a third year running in 2025. It did not go softer because graining has been a problem at every edition of this race. The sessions started two hours earlier than in 2024, which Pirelli expected to make conditions a little less cold. Pirelli’s 2025 selection (opens in a new tab).
Both McLarens were disqualified in 2025
Lando Norris took pole in a wet qualifying session. At the start he ran wide at Turn 1, and Max Verstappen took the lead and won. Norris finished second on the road, nearly 21 seconds behind after nursing a late problem. After the race both McLarens were disqualified, because the rearmost skid wear on Norris’s and Oscar Piastri’s cars was below the minimum thickness. The 2025 race report (opens in a new tab).
The official top five was Verstappen, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Antonelli had started 17th and taken a five-second penalty for a false start. The official classification (opens in a new tab).
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Championship standings
After 15 rounds, Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ table by 66 points from George Russell. The Bahrain Grand Prix, the Singapore Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Mexican Grand Prix and the Brazilian Grand Prix still have to be scored, so this table will change before Las Vegas.
View full 2026 standingsDrivers
After 15 rounds- 1Kimi Antonelli302 pts
- 2George Russell236 pts
- 3Lewis Hamilton199 pts
- 4Lando Norris186 pts
- 5Charles Leclerc179 pts
- 6Max Verstappen163 pts
Scored through round 15, updated 27 Sept 2026.
Common questions
When is the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix?
The race starts at 20:00 Las Vegas time on Saturday 21 November 2026. Practice begins on Thursday 19 November, and qualifying starts at 20:00 on Friday 20 November.
Who won the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix?
Max Verstappen. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli completed the podium after both McLarens were disqualified.