Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 start times: F1 returns to the Strip on Saturday night
Norris won in São Paulo, Verstappen leads Russell by 17 points in the fight for second, and lights out is at 05:00 CET on Sunday morning in Europe
The Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 starts on Saturday 21 November at 20:00 local time, which is 04:00 in the UK, 05:00 CET on Sunday morning and 23:00 ET on Saturday night. Round 21 of 23 runs over 50 laps of the 6.201-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit, two weeks after Lando Norris won in São Paulo and with Max Verstappen 17 points clear of George Russell in the fight for second place.
Full result of the last race: São Paulo Grand Prix 2026 results
Qualifying and race results from the Strip: Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 results
The race starts at 04:00 UK, 05:00 CET and 23:00 ET
Las Vegas is eight hours behind UTC, so every Formula 1 session runs late in the evening locally and in the middle of the night in Europe. On the US East Coast the race is a Saturday night race. There is no sprint in Las Vegas.
| Session | Local (PST) | UK (GMT) | CET | US Eastern (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Thu 19 Nov, 16:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 00:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 01:30 | Thu 19 Nov, 19:30 |
| Practice 2 | Thu 19 Nov, 20:00 | Fri 20 Nov, 04:00 | Fri 20 Nov, 05:00 | Thu 19 Nov, 23:00 |
| Practice 3 | Fri 20 Nov, 16:30 | Sat 21 Nov, 00:30 | Sat 21 Nov, 01:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 19:30 |
| Qualifying | Fri 20 Nov, 20:00 | Sat 21 Nov, 04:00 | Sat 21 Nov, 05:00 | Fri 20 Nov, 23:00 |
| Race (50 laps) | Sat 21 Nov, 20:00 | Sun 22 Nov, 04:00 | Sun 22 Nov, 05:00 | Sat 21 Nov, 23:00 |
In India (IST, UTC+5:30): first practice on Friday at 06:00, second practice on Friday at 09:30, final practice on Saturday at 06:00, qualifying on Saturday at 09:30 and the race on Sunday at 09:30.
Source: formula1.com official timetable. The timetable is subject to change.
Saturday night on the Strip, Sunday morning in Europe
Why is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a Saturday? Because the official timetable puts the Grand Prix itself on Saturday evening local time: the drivers’ parade is at 18:00, the national anthem at 19:44 and lights out at 20:00 on Saturday 21 November. Practice runs on Thursday evening and qualifying on Friday evening, also at 20:00. Because Las Vegas is eight hours behind UTC, the race still falls on Sunday for most of the world: 04:00 in London, 05:00 in Paris and Berlin, and 09:30 in Mumbai and Delhi.
F1 Academy closes its season on the Strip
F1 Academy shares the weekend and holds the seventh and final round of its 2026 season in Las Vegas, with two races of 13 laps. The title is already settled: Alisha Palmowski became champion in Austin, where Nina Gademan won the feature race.
| F1 Academy | Local (PST) | UK (GMT) | CET | US Eastern (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice | Thu 19 Nov, 18:00 | Fri 20 Nov, 02:00 | Fri 20 Nov, 03:00 | Thu 19 Nov, 21:00 |
| Qualifying | Thu 19 Nov, 21:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 05:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 06:30 | Fri 20 Nov, 00:30 |
| Reverse Race (13 laps) | Fri 20 Nov, 18:15 | Sat 21 Nov, 02:15 | Sat 21 Nov, 03:15 | Fri 20 Nov, 21:15 |
| Feature Race (13 laps) | Sat 21 Nov, 16:20 | Sun 22 Nov, 00:20 | Sun 22 Nov, 01:20 | Sat 21 Nov, 19:20 |
Verstappen leads Russell by 17 points in the fight for second
Kimi Antonelli is already world champion with 390 points, and Mercedes clinched the constructors’ title in Brazil. Behind him, São Paulo blew the fight for second wide open. Norris won from pole, 14.602 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who started 21st after an engine change, with Isack Hadjar third.
The official standings after round 20: Verstappen 279 points, George Russell 262, Hamilton 261, Charles Leclerc 249 and Norris 246. With three Grands Prix and no sprints left, 75 points are still available, so all five can still finish as runner-up. Full tables: F1 standings 2026 and the 2026 title permutations.
Verstappen won in 2025 after both McLarens were disqualified
Max Verstappen won the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Norris and Oscar Piastri crossed the line second and fourth but were both disqualified for a technical infringement, which moved George Russell up to second and Antonelli to third, despite a five-second penalty for a false start. Charles Leclerc was classified fourth.
Las Vegas first hosted F1 in 1981, at Caesars Palace
The Strip race is not the city’s first Grand Prix. Las Vegas closed the season in 1981 and 1982 under the Caesars Palace Grand Prix name. Alan Jones won the first one for Williams, and Michele Alboreto took his maiden F1 victory for Tyrrell in the second. Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg both clinched their world titles in those two Las Vegas finales.
Formula 1 returned in 2023 on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit: 6.201 km, 17 turns and 50 laps. Verstappen won that first race, George Russell led a Mercedes one-two in 2024, and Verstappen won again in 2025, setting the lap record of 1:33.365.
Our hunch
Seventeen points with 75 still to play is a lead, not a guarantee, and only one point separates Russell and Hamilton behind him. But Las Vegas went Verstappen’s way last year, and a second win in three races would put him within touching distance of second place before Qatar. For fans in Europe the bigger opponent is the alarm clock: 05:00 CET on a Sunday is early, even by Formula 1 standards.
Qatar follows a week later, then the Abu Dhabi finale
After Las Vegas the season moves straight to the Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November and ends in Abu Dhabi on 6 December. All qualifying and race results from the Strip will be on our Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 results page, and the new points on our F1 standings page.
Can Russell, Hamilton or anyone else still catch Verstappen for second place? Tell us in the comments.
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