Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 Preview: Malaysia Times and Storylines

Formula 1's late-season run moves to the Nevada desert next week for the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026, round 21 of the championship, from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 November. It is the only Grand Prix on the calendar held on a Saturday night, and it brings the paddock back to the Strip for a fourth edition of the modern event. For fans in Malaysia, the time difference works unusually well: the race starts at 8pm on Saturday in Las Vegas, which is 12 noon on Sunday 22 November in Malaysia.

This preview was written on 30 October, before the Mexico City and São Paulo rounds, so it focuses on the timetable, the lessons of previous years and the storylines that will still apply when the cars take to the track. Our separate circuit guide covers the layout in more detail.

Las Vegas Grand Prix schedule in Malaysia time

Las Vegas is 16 hours behind Malaysia in November, which means every evening session in Nevada falls on the following morning or lunchtime in Malaysia. The official timetable, which remains subject to change, sets out the key sessions as follows.

• Practice 1: Thursday 19 November, 16:30 local, 08:30 MYT on Friday 20 November
• Practice 2: Thursday 19 November, 20:00 local, 12:00 MYT on Friday 20 November
• Practice 3: Friday 20 November, 16:30 local, 08:30 MYT on Saturday 21 November
• Qualifying: Friday 20 November, 20:00 local, 12:00 MYT on Saturday 21 November
• F1 Academy feature race: Saturday 21 November, 16:20 local, 08:20 MYT on Sunday 22 November
• Grand Prix (50 laps): Saturday 21 November, 20:00 local, 12:00 MYT on Sunday 22 November

The support programme includes F1 Academy, which runs practice and qualifying on Thursday, a reverse-grid race on Friday and its feature race on Saturday afternoon, before the drivers' parade and national anthem lead into the Grand Prix. The official timetable allows up to 120 minutes for the 50-lap race.

Lessons from 2025

Last year's Las Vegas Grand Prix ended with one of the most dramatic post-race rulings of the 2025 season. Max Verstappen took the lead at the first corner and controlled the race, but the bigger story came hours later. Lando Norris, who finished second, and Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth, were both disqualified after post-race checks found the skid blocks under their McLarens had worn beyond the 1mm allowed. Motor Sport reported measurements as low as 8.74mm against a minimum of 9mm.

The stewards accepted that the breach was not deliberate, but said the rules left them no choice. McLaren explained that it had not expected the "unexpected, high levels of porpoising" seen in the race, after a weekend in which wet weather limited practice and a loose manhole cover caused two stoppages. Team principal Andrea Stella apologised to both drivers. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were promoted to second and third, giving Mercedes a double podium behind Verstappen.

• 2023: Max Verstappen won the first modern Las Vegas Grand Prix.
• 2024: George Russell won for Mercedes.
• 2025: Verstappen won again; both McLarens were disqualified for plank wear.
• Lap record: 1:33.365, Verstappen, 2025.
• Practice running has been disrupted by weather or track issues in past editions.

For teams, the takeaway is clear. Ride height choices at Las Vegas need margin, because the long straights and bumpy street surface can punish a car set too low, especially if practice is cut short and the race brings conditions nobody saw on Friday.

Storylines to watch

Any mention of the championship needs a clear time stamp, because two races will have run between the writing of this preview and the start of practice. After the United States Grand Prix on 25 October, the last race before this was written, Crash.net's table showed Kimi Antonelli on 365 points, with nine wins, and needing only two more points in Mexico City to secure the title. Mexico City and São Paulo will have run by publication, so check the latest standings for the current state of the Drivers' Championship; this preview makes no assumption about whether it has been decided. Behind Antonelli after Austin, George Russell had 242, Lewis Hamilton 241, Max Verstappen 236 and Charles Leclerc 233.

That tight group fighting for second place is the most durable storyline for the final three rounds. Las Vegas has favoured Verstappen and Mercedes in the past, with Russell winning in 2024 and finishing second in 2025. Ferrari, with Hamilton and Leclerc both in the mix, will want a car that can heat its tyres quickly on a cold night.

The Teams' Championship offers another battle. After Austin, Red Bull and McLaren were tied on 355 points for third, well behind Mercedes on 607 and Ferrari on 474. McLaren returns to the scene of its double disqualification and will be keen to leave with a clean result. It is also a home race for Cadillac, the new American team, which was still looking for its first points after Austin.

• Tyre warm-up on a cold, low-grip street circuit at night.
• Energy management on the 1.9 km Strip straight under the 2026 rules.
• Ride height and plank wear after McLaren's 2025 disqualification.
• The fight for second in the Drivers' Championship.
• Red Bull against McLaren for third in the Teams' Championship.

Why the 2026 rules matter here

Las Vegas is one of the most energy-sensitive circuits on the calendar. With DRS gone in 2026, drivers rely on active aerodynamics and an overtake mode that gives extra electrical energy to a car close behind. On a lap dominated by long straights, where and when a driver deploys and recovers energy can matter as much as cornering speed. Verstappen said in Baku this season that overtaking is harder when everyone drains the battery on the same long straight, and the Strip is the longest full-throttle test of that problem.

Cold track temperatures complicate things further. Drivers need heat in the tyres for grip, and with the wings opened in straight mode for long stretches of the lap, keeping the tyres in their working window is harder still. Qualifying and restarts after a Safety Car will be particularly delicate.

For Malaysian viewers, the weekend is one of the most convenient of the year: qualifying on Saturday at lunchtime and the race at noon on Sunday. Whatever the championship picture looks like when the paddock arrives, the Las Vegas Grand Prix has rarely followed a script, and the 2026 cars give it a fresh set of unknowns.