Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Las Vegas

Oscar Piastri is the man under pressure at the moment. He needs to pull his socks up, start performing and stop making mistakes.

Charles Leclerc goes fastest in the early stages of this session with a 1:41.328.

That's over four seconds faster than Franco Colapinto who's second fastest so far.

By my count, as I type this, there are 12 cars out on track inside the opening few minutes.

Might as well get out there now seeing as it's not going to get any warmer out there.RB's Liam Lawson has just said it's slippery out there as he navigates his first few laps.

A sign of things to come?

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Las Vegas

As a track, I think the drivers enjoy it and it's one of the highlights of the year. The biggest challenge is not just the circuit, it's the temperatures. The drivers are not used to these cold temperatures. Because we have that 1.92km straight between Turn 12, up to Turn 14, your tyres lose temperature.

Isack Hadjar is the first car out as he wrestles his RB around the Las Vegas strip.

Can he top his eighth-placed finish from Sao Paulo this weekend in his first appearance on the Vegas circuit?

Right then. We are under way in Las Vegas.

18C track temperature and 14C air temperature. Brrr!

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page to tune into BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra commentary of today's action.

Commentator Harry Benjamin is joined by Alice Powell and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson to take you through all the goings on.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's Ferrari's Charles Leclerc arriving at the circuit earlier today and, in typical Las Vegas fashion, he's greeted by an Elvis impersonator.

I'm sure you can think of your own puns.

Caught in a (speed) trap? You can do better. Let us know using the big yellow button above.

Harry Benjamin has had some help from his BBC Radio 5 Live colleagues in picking out five things to watch at this weekend's grand prix in Vegas.

Have a watch of Harry above with guest appearances from F1 correspondent Andrew Benson, presenter Rosanna Tennant and racing driver Alice Powell.

Ever wonder what it's like for Formula 1's elite drivers and the struggle they face to get to the top?

In this episode of More Than The Score, Lee James speaks to former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer about the pressure of being a Formula 1 driver.

Meanwhile, F1 journalist Rebecca Clancy analyses Oscar Piastri's mental battle with drivers' championship leader, and his McLaren team-mate, Lando Norris as the 2025 season reaches its crescendo.

You can listen to the episode above.

Light rain showers and light winds.

That's exactly the kind of weather that springs to mind when you think about 'Las Vegas' isn't it?

That being said, whoever said that perfect conditions always lead to perfect racing?

Tonight's weather could mean we're in store for some interesting twists and turns in first and second practice.

So, for the third consecutive year, we've got the same Pirelli tyre line-up for the Las Vegas race weekend.

C3, C4 and C5 will all be available and you'd imagine there'll be some cooler temperatures throughout the weekend as in previous years.

However, Pirelli say that the earlier sessions this year will help as the conditions theoretically won't be quite as cold and will therefore help the tyre warm up.

Speaking of which, what does the weather look like this weekend anyway?

See the yellow 'Get Involved' tab at the top of the page? Hit that at any point during this weekend's live pages to send us your thoughts.

Are you a die hard Formula 1 fan, ruining your sleeping pattern for the duration of the weekend?

Are you unable to sleep, perhaps due to a newborn? Or are you working nights and have a spare minute to check the action?

Let us know how you're following all the goings on on the strip tonight.

Meanwhile in the constructors' championship, here's how things look headed into this weekend.

Obviously McLaren have long wrapped up the championship but in the aftermath of Sao Paulo, there was some movement from second to fourth.

Ferrari, who had occupied second position headed into Interlagos, dropped to fourth, with Mercedes replacing them having been third beforehand.

Red Bull, meanwhile, go up into third position thanks in no small part to Max Verstappen's incredible drive for a podum in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

In the midfield, Williams are comfortably in fifth position but just 10 points separate seventh-placed Aston Martin and Sauber in ninth, with Haas breathing down Aston's neck just two points behind them.

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

This is the lay of the land in the drivers' championship.

Lando Norris is top of the tree and seemingly in control of his own destiny as we enter the business end of the season.

21 rounds in and Norris is within touching distance of a maiden title having wrestled control from previous leader Oscar Piastri courtesy of some fine performances of late.

The Briton has been on the podum in five of the past six grands prix and has won the past two races in a row.

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

Good evening. Or should that be morning?

The final countdown has begun and just three races on the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship calendar remain.

Lando Norris extended his lead in the drivers' championship to 24 points with a comprehensive display during the Sao Paulo grand prix weekend almost two weeks ago.

Now the attention turns to Las Vegas and Norris can take a giant step towards the title when we get under way.

Speaking of which, first practice begins at 00:30 GMT.

Then we'll be back later on for second practice at 04:00 GMT.

Will Norris have things all his way when we hit the strip or will second-placed Oscar Piastri bridge the gap and set up a tense finale to the campaign?

Or will four-time world champion Max Verstappen, fresh from an incredible performance in Interlagos, continue his recent fine form in his Red Bull?

Things are still in the balance.