The Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend kicked off with an early for the Europeans but exciting first practice session under the city’s bright lights.

Drivers faced tricky conditions, as the cool evening temperatures and dusty track made it feel like they were driving on ice. Liam Lawson said it was like “driving in the wet,” while Max Verstappen also struggled with grip, saying it felt as slippery as ever.

Kevin Magnussen was a surprise early leader, setting a fast lap ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen but the Mercedes drivers soon began to take control, with Hamilton and George Russell trading the top spot.

Alpine’s drivers stayed in the garage at first, waiting for the track to improve, but Esteban Ocon reported “very low grip” when he finally went out.

Oscar Piastri encountered a rare issue when he arrived in the pit lane, informing McLaren that his car "wouldn’t switch off." The team quickly addressed the problem and moved the car back into the garage.

Aston Martin also had problems, with Fernando Alonso needing a brake duct change and Lance Stroll’s car requiring floor repairs.

On top of the lack of grip, Max Verstappen was complaining about steering issues throughout the whole session but looked like it won’t be a hard problem to resolve for Red Bull.

Ferrari tested a new floor design during the first practice session, purely for data collection to support the development of their 2025 car. It’s not expected to be used again for the rest of the weekend.

As the track got a little cleaner, lap times started to drop. Hamilton set the pace with a 1:36.9 before drivers switched to soft tyres for faster runs. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz briefly led for Ferrari, but McLaren’s Lando Norris went quicker with a 1:35.9. Verstappen struggled with a steering issue but managed to climb to sixth place.

In the final minutes, Mercedes showed their strength. Russell took P1 with a 1:35.397, but Hamilton went even faster, clocking a 1:35.001 to finish the session on top. Norris ended up third, while Verstappen ended up fifth.