The Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled for November 19–21, with the main race commencing on Sunday afternoon for viewers in Australia and New Zealand. The event marks the 21st round of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The Grand Prix will start at 15:00 Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) in Sydney and Melbourne. For New Zealand audiences, the race begins at 17:00 New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) in Auckland. Other Australian start times include 14:30 in Adelaide, 14:00 in Brisbane, 13:30 in Darwin, and 12:00 in Perth.
This timing is a result of the significant time difference, with Las Vegas operating on Pacific Standard Time (PST), eight hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Sydney and Melbourne are eleven hours ahead of UTC, while Auckland is thirteen hours ahead. The race itself is scheduled for 20:00 local time on Saturday, November 21, in Las Vegas, translating to Sunday, November 22, in the Oceania region.
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a 6.201-kilometre street course featuring 17 corners and a 1.9-kilometre flat-out straight along Las Vegas Boulevard. This layout combines high-speed sections with technical street-circuit elements, making it one of the fastest venues on the calendar. Cars can reach speeds exceeding 350 km/h on the main straight.
The circuit presents specific technical challenges, particularly regarding tyre management. The night race conditions often lead to considerably cooler track temperatures, making it difficult for drivers to bring their tyres into the optimal operating window. McLaren driver Lando Norris has previously warned that the cold conditions could make the 2026 tyres extremely difficult to manage.
McLaren arrives in Las Vegas following Lando Norris’s victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix. The team has introduced further aerodynamic upgrades for the Las Vegas event, including a redesigned floor. These developments aim to enhance the car’s predictability and provide crucial data for the 2027 car design.
Oscar Piastri, Norris’s teammate, finished sixth in São Paulo. Piastri has indicated that while the MCL40’s latest aerodynamic developments have improved the car, it still requires further gains in speed and ease of driving. Piastri currently sits seventh in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship standings with 150 points.
Liam Lawson, driving for Racing Bulls, secured a seventh-place finish in São Paulo, strengthening his position for a 2027 seat. Racing Bulls remains the only team yet to formally confirm its complete driver line-up for the upcoming season. An announcement regarding Lawson’s future is anticipated before the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The competition for the Racing Bulls seats includes current teammate Arvid Lindblad and Formula 2 prospect Nikola Tsolov. Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane stated that the team is applying a ‘little bit of science’ to the decision-making process for its 2027 driver pairing.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix has an agreement to remain on the Formula 1 calendar through to 2037. The current iteration of the event debuted in 2023, following earlier attempts to host F1 races in the city during the 1980s, which were held on a temporary circuit in the Caesars Palace parking lot and faced criticism for their layout and spectator interest.
Kimi Antonelli has already secured the 2026 Drivers’ Championship, becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history. Mercedes has also clinched the Constructors’ Championship. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the first of the final three rounds of the 2026 season, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi following.
