Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fastest in Las Vegas Grand Prix opening practice

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished fastest in opening practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Leclerc saw off Williams’ Alex Albon by 0.166 seconds with Yuki Tsunoda third.

Max Verstappen finished fourth in the other Red Bull, three tenths back, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were only sixth and eighth respectively for McLaren.

The Formula One season is reaching its climax with Norris holding a 24-point lead over team-mate Piastri heading into the concluding three rounds.

McLaren have been the class of the field this year but the street circuit on the Strip has not been a venue which has suited their machinery in the previous two races staged here.

In the opening running of the weekend, Norris ran wide twice at Turn 12 on two quick laps and ended the one-hour session 0.456 seconds adrift. Piastri was even further back, 0.648 seconds off Leclerc’s pace-setting Ferrari.

Verstappen is the only other driver left in championship contention, trailing Norris by 49 points – the equivalent of two victories – with only 83 points available across the final three contests, starting here in Nevada, and in Qatar and then Abu Dhabi.

The Dutch driver, who impressed from his pit-lane start to finish third at the previous round in Brazil, might be encouraged by McLaren’s early lack of speed.

Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz finished fifth for Williams with Isack Hadjar seventh in his RB. Last year’s winner, George Russell, was only ninth. Lewis Hamilton finished 11th.

The second session gets under way at 20:00 local time (04:00 GMT).