Why is the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix taking place on a Saturday?

Verstappen looking quizzical in Red Bull tee and hat edited in front of a Vegas-themed F1 paddock background — Photo: © IMAGO

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Why is the Las Vegas Grand Prix taking place on a Saturday?

This year's Las Vegas GP will be the only full-length race on a Saturday.

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 20 November 2025 11:57

Regardless of whether you are an avid F1 fan or new to the sport, you may be a little confused about what time the on-track action is taking place at this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Since its inaugural event in 2023, the Las Vegas GP has been a night race, and this year will take place at 8pm local time (PST) on November 22.

And before you rush to check your calendars, yes, the full-length Las Vegas race is taking place on a Saturday for those in that time zone, but this will of course vary depending on where you are tuning in from.

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In the UK for example, the time zone difference between PST and GMT means Brits will adhere to the usual race weekend layout of Friday-Sunday, but at much earlier hours than many are used to.

If we go by local time, this also means that the whole F1 race week has been brought forward a day for the event in the entertainment capital, with the official media day kicking things off in Vegas on Wednesday and the first track session taking place on Thursday.

This has likely been done to avoid the European viewers skipping out on watching the race entirely given that if the traditional race weekend format had been followed, a Sunday Las Vegas night race would be airing just in time for the working world to be head to the office across the pond.

Instead, the Saturday evening slot allows Europeans to stay up late (or get up early on the Sunday depending on how you look at it) to enjoy the nighttime appeal of the Vegas strip.

Plus, considering the viewers tuning in on GMT and CET are treated to a mostly palatable start time for the majority of the other F1 races across the season, one weekend of sacrificing sleep isn't too bad!

This year, FP1 & FP2 will be at 4:30pm and 8pm respectively on Thursday (PST) before FP3 and the vital qualifying take place around the strip on Friday on the same time schedule.

Lights out for Saturday's night race will then commence at 8pm the following day.

For the full breakdown of the Las Vegas schedule, see our table below.

Las Vegas 2025 F1 weekend schedule

Session	Track Date	Track Time	UK Date	UK Time
FP1	Thu 20 Nov	16:30	Fri 21 Nov	00:30
FP2	Thu 20 Nov	20:00	Fri 21 Nov	04:00
FP3	Fri 21 Nov	16:30	Sat 22 Nov	00:30
Qualifying	Fri 21 Nov	20:00	Sat 22 Nov	04:00
Race	Sat 22 Nov	20:00	Sun 23 Nov	04:00