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Las Vegas Grand Prix facts and stats you should know as Lando Norris makes McLaren history in Nevada

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Formula 1 is in the iconic Sin City for this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the championship battle heating up in the final three races.

Lando Norris reclaimed the lead in the 2025 title fight after winning the Mexican Grand Prix, before extending his position at the top in Sao Paulo.

The McLaren driver dominated the last race weekend in Brazil, which saw him pull ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points in the championship standings.

Max Verstappen is also still in the title fight, sitting 49 points behind Norris, although the Dutchman could find himself eliminated this weekend in Las Vegas.

We now head into the final triple header of 2025, with just two more weekends before this year’s champion will be crowned.

Read More: 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix race and qualifying times, how to watch and Nevada weather forecast

Las Vegas returns to Formula 1 calendar after 40-year hiatus

The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was held in 2023, despite Formula 1 coming to the iconic city in the early 1980s. The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was hosted 40 years prior in 1981 and 1982, running on a temporary track in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel.

The previous editions of the race in Vegas were held as the season finales, with Alan Jones for Williams claiming the win at the maiden Caesars Palace Grand Prix.

Michele Alboreto was victorious around the car park circuit in 1982 with Tyrrell, making him the eleventh driver to win a race that season and seeing Tyrrell become the seventh constructor to take a grand prix victory during the year.

The new Las Vegas Grand Prix has seen two different winners since it returned in 2023, with Verstappen taking the inaugural win, before George Russell took his second victory of the season last year.

Verstappen settled his 2024 title fight in Sin City last year, after finishing just one place ahead of Norris to see him finally close the door on the Brit and take his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship.

Track guide to the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, home of the F1 Las Vegas GP

Las Vegas Strip Circuit track stats and facts

The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a 6.201 km (3.853 mi) track, which takes place on a temporary street circuit around the iconic Sin City. The circuit runs past several iconic Las Vegas landmarks, including The Strip and the MSG Sphere.

During the day, the roads around Las Vegas are reopened to regular traffic, giving the circuit unique challenges to ensure sessions are finished on time to ensure minimal delays to the city.

It is the second-longest track on the 2025 calendar, only being beaten by Spa-Francorchamps, which is 7.004 km (4.352 mi). Despite this, the circuit has the second-shortest run from pole position to the first braking zone at 112 metres, only beaten by the Baku City Circuit, which is 89m.

The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is one of eight anti-clockwise tracks this season, and features 17 corners, 11 of which are to the left, with just six right-hand turns.

Formula 1 sees some of the fastest speeds of the year in Las Vegas, which is aided by the 1.9km straight which runs between Turns 13 and 14, although drivers drive flat out from the previous Turn 12.

Las Vegas sees difficult setup challenges for the teams, due to the cooler temperatures and slippery circuit. It is a fine balance between ensuring high levels of downforce for the low-speed corners and mechanical grip.

Las Vegas is the coldest race on the calendar, seeing average temperatures of around 8-17°C, which is only matched by China and Japan.

RecordRecord holder
Race lap record1:34.876 – Lando Norris (2024)
Most pole positionsx1 Charles Leclerc (2023) & George Russell (2024)
Most wins (Driver)x1 Max Verstappen (2023) & George Russell (2024)
Most wins (Constructor)x1 Red Bull Racing (2023) & Mercedes (2024)

What have the F1 drivers said about the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix?

Lando Norris: “Las Vegas up next! Driving down The Strip is quite a cool experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing all the fans in the US for the final time this season.

“Vegas has been a challenging one for us in the past, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be trying our hardest to extract maximum performance from what’s available within the car. I’m feeling really good and motivated. I’m ready for this final push.”

Max Verstappen: “Vegas is a fast circuit, there is low downforce and temperatures look pretty low this week so we will need to be managing our tyres well. We have great memories at this track, winning the Championship here in Vegas last year, so hopefully we have another positive performance on Sunday too.”

Esteban Ocon: “The last triple header of the season is upon us, and we’re heading back to shiny Las Vegas for a third time. This truly unique track is incredible to drive with most drivers going pretty much flat out for most of the lap. Driving through the heart of such an iconic city is pretty surreal and still hard to believe that we get to race down the famous Las Vegas Strip.”

Franco Colapinto: “The conditions will be a challenge to contend with, with the schedule and drop in temperatures in the desert sure to play a part in our preparation. We will be looking to keep our heads down and extract as much from the weekend as possible as we head into the home stretch of the season.”

Records that could be broken at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Both Norris and Russell mark their 150th grand prix this weekend in Las Vegas, with the pair joining the grid in 2019. Alex Albon was also part of the 2019 rookie line-up but is 25 races behind the duo after being dropped by Red Bull for the 2021 season.

Norris’ start in Las Vegas will see him equal David Coulthard’s record for the most starts with McLaren, with both drivers achieving the 150 feat with the Woking-based team.

An impressive 50-year record could also be matched this weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the last seven races having been won by the polesitter.

If the driver who takes pole position in Sin City wins this weekend’s grand prix, then it will match the record which was set in 1976 between the United States Grand Prix and the German race.

The current run was started by Oscar Piastri at the Dutch Grand Prix in August, and every polesitter has claimed victory in the races since, as we head to Las Vegas.