The Las Vegas Heineken Grand Prix kickstarts the first leg of the final triple-header of the season, a night race held on Saturday in the heart of the resort city on the famous Strip - otherwise known as the Las Vegas Boulevard.
According to the official schedule, the first two free practice sessions take place on Thursday night, with FP3 and qualifying following on Friday.
The track, the second longest on the calendar, spans 3.853 mi (6.201km) with the cars running past iconic landmarks, such as the Sphere arena, over 50 laps.
The counterclockwise street circuit comprises 17 corners and high-speed straights, promoting neon-lit wheel-to-wheel racing in the fierce overtaking battles, particularly from Turn 6 through Turn 9.
At the end of the 1.2-mile (1.9-km) run, the F1 challengers shift from full-throttle mode to transition into the gripping, heavy braking zones (from Turns 12 to 14), heating the on-track action in the cold desert nights, as they pass the iconic Bellagio or Caesars Palace landmarks.
Then, the permanent part of the circuit leads into the pits and paddock area.
In addition, its location in the Mojave Desert, Nevada, where low temperatures are registered at this time of the year, poses an extra challenge to the tires, reducing grip while making tire warm-up and management difficult for the drivers.
The Formula 1 official tire supplier, Pirelli, has chosen the C3, C4, and C5 compounds for the upcoming Grand Prix racing weekend.
Last season, the Williams of Franco Colapinto recorded the maximum speed of 221.5mph (356.4km/h) at the end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Meanwhile, George Russell with Mercedes set an average speed for the pole position lap of 150.3mph (241.9km/h) and would go on to win the race with former teammate Lewis Hamilton and Spaniard Carlos Sainz for Scuderia Ferrari completing the podium.
Three for the World Championship
With the Drivers’ Championship to be decided over the next three weeks, McLaren’s Lando Norris lands on North American soil with a 24-point advantage over teammate Oscar Piastri.
“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,” said the British driver.
“I’m feeling really good and motivated. I’m ready for this final push.”
Also, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen stands in contention for a fifth world championship at the pinnacle of motorsport, 49 points behind Norris in the overall standings.
An intense triple header starts in Las Vegas and then heads to the Middle East via Qatar before a stellar year comes to a close in Abu Dhabi early in December.
Speaking about the last race of the year in the US, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella outlined: “This Grand Prix is symbolic of Formula 1 today, a sport that is growing in popularity and is enjoying unprecedented success in the USA.”
“From a technical point of view, it is a difficult race for us on paper, and we certainly did not shine in the two previous events there. We saw once again in Sao Paulo how tight the competition is on the track: a few thousandths of a second are enough to make the difference, for better or for worse,” he added.
“The preparation for each session, therefore, takes on even greater importance because every detail is crucial to making the most of the potential available. It is in this spirit that we arrive in Nevada, aware that we still have a long way to go to achieve the goals we have set ourselves and that we are facing very strong opponents.”