TONIGHT: Las Vegas Grand Prix returns with tight drivers’ race, rainy weather

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TONIGHT: Las Vegas Grand Prix returns with tight drivers' race, rainy weather

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Formula One is officially back.

The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix will take over the Strip for three nights, starting Thursday with practice laps and an F1 Academy qualifying race.

Practices are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. The F1 Academy Qualifying starts at 9:30 p.m.

A chance of rain is in the forecast for Thursday night, which could present some challenging conditions for drivers on what is already considered a very fast circuit.

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George Russell with Mercedes returns to defend his first-place finish in last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, but all eyes are on the tight standings for top driver.

Lando Norris with McLaren leads the 2025 Drivers’ Standings with 390 points. He’s just 24 points ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who sits in second with 366 points.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who clinched last year’s world championship in Las Vegas with a fifth-place finish, holds third with 341 points. That puts him just 49 points behind Norris and 25 points back of Piastri.

It’s the closest the F1 driver standings have been since 2021, when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were tied in points entering the final race of the season.

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Track closures start at 1 p.m., and roads are scheduled to reopen at 12:30 a.m. Friday.

Nightly Interstate 15 ramp and lane closures also began Wednesday for the Grand Prix and will remain in place through Sunday, Nov. 23.

Interstate 15 – Intermittent Ramp Closures: