F1 star slams 'dangerous' Las Vegas Grand Prix

Ollie Bearman driving a Haas F1 car on the Vegas circuit beneath the smiling vegas GP helmet sphere — Photo: © IMAGO

Las Vegas Grand Prix

F1 star slams 'dangerous' Las Vegas Grand Prix

Teams didn't get a full two hours of running on Thursday evening

Chris Deeley

Friday 21 November 2025 17:57

Young F1 driver Oliver Bearman has criticised the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit, calling it the 'least enjoyable' street track on the calendar.

This weekend marks the 20-year-old's first race weekend on the streets of Nevada and, after his first day of on-track action, he appeared less than impressed.

He specifically cited the lack of grip on the surface, a combination of the roads being used by the public as normal before every day's running and the low temperatures in the November evenings out in the desert.

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The Haas starlet went as far as to call the high-speed nature of the circuit 'dangerous', with the low grip and tight walls of the street layout.

Bearman hits out at Vegas conditions

Speaking to Sky Sports after FP2, Bearman said: "The least enjoyable street track I've driven. Normally they’re really fun and great. This one, really low grip, which is not a great combination when you have the walls very close.

“It’s incredibly high speed which is dangerous, so the track itself is cool to be racing down the Strip in Las Vegas, aside from that there’s not much good stuff.”

For the second time in the last three years, the first day's running in Vegas was red flagged for a period because of concerns about loose manhole covers – an issue which caused massive damage to Carlos Sainz's Ferrari just two years ago.

With a reasonable amount of rain expected between the Thursday and Friday sessions, the track is likely to lose all the rubber laid down by the cars in FP1 and FP2, with drivers likely to be finding new limits of grip all the way through qualifying.

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

F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Ollie Bearman