1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:35.001

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.396

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.953

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.006

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.037

6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +1.217

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.261

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.450

9. 8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.477

10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +1.535

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The Mercedes are looking pretty handy in these early stages.

Can Lewis Hamilton sneak a final quick time in before the doors close on first practice? He goes purple in the opening sector, purple in the middle sector and as he crosses the line...

... he goes nearly four-tenths faster than George Russell.

Sylvester Stallone's face is lurching over the cars on track as it's beamed on the giant Sphere. Lewis Hamilton is trying to jump above his team-mate George Russell on the timesheets, which he does, before Russell improves to take back the first practice throne. The gap between the pair is 0.090 seconds.

George Russell reaches Turn 16 and can pick up a handy tow from one of the McLarens. What a welcome gift. The Mercedes driver goes quickest with a time of 1:35.619 on the softs. His marker is 0.335 seconds faster than Lando Norris' time set a few moments ago.

Lando Norris has had to field a lot of questions about the title race in the build-up to racing in Las Vegas. After Max Verstappen's stunning display in the wet in Sao Paulo, the McLaren driver needs a bit of a miracle to keep himself in contention.

Charles Leclerc beats his team-mate Carlos Sainz, but he can't keep hold of that top spot, as Norris can better the pair of them by 0.53 seconds on his soft run.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Liam Lawson will be in F1 next year, I think we can say that pretty confidently. The only question is which Red Bull car is he in. There are questions marks about Sergio Perez still and a seat still to be confirmed at RB. He needs to prove he can consistently beat Tsunoda I think to have a chance to be put in place ahead of Perez. If they get rid of Perez, presumably they'll put Lawson alongside Max Verstappen. Good luck with that one, Liam.

The timesheets have been stagnant since the opening times set on the mediums but now we have movement on the board as the soft tyres come into play.

Ferrari are being tipped as the team to beat this weekend and both Scuderia drivers are sitting at the top after their first runs on the C5 rubber. Carlos Sainz is quickest of the two with a 1:36.218.

The track is filthy. Really dusty and mucky. The huge Sphere, however, does look fantastic as the cars whizz by.

News of a grid penalty - and it's for Sauber's Valtteri Bottas. The Finn will drop down five places for Sunday's Las Vegas Grand Prix for taking a fourth energy store.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

We are expecting Charles Leclerc and Ferrari to be strong again this weekend.

The Bellagio fountains are in full flow as the nighttime entertainment in Las Vegas, framing first practice nicely.

The TV cameras have clocked Zhou Guanyu's mum watching on from the garage tonight. We learned during the short break between races that Zhou and Valtteri Bottas will be leaving us at the end of the season, as Sauber have signed Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto for the 2025 campaign to partner Nico Hulkenberg.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

A lot of drivers are really struggling to get the car stopped, it's really dusty down there.

Zak Brown is chatting to Sky Sports on the pit wall this weekend and the McLaren CEO thinks Ferrari will be the strongest this weekend and that Mercedes are looking good so far in this practice session.

On Oscar Piastri's car , he says it was "small issues", they "know what it is" and it's "all sorted". Excellent.

Oscar Piastri is being pulled back into the McLaren garage because the Australian is having a few issues. "The car won't turn off," says Piastri.

Over at Williams, Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon have both been given a black and white flag for crossing the white line at pit entry.

George Russell is on the case, though, and flags the issue to his Mercedes crew. "The pit entry line is almost impossible to see," says the Briton.

There have been quite a few yellow flags already in this session. Nothing too alarming, the green has been waved quickly after, but drivers are definitely struggling to find a smooth ride at the moment. Max Verstappen screeches in the Red Bull as he also falls foul of a lock-up and has to find a safe spot to bail out before continuing on his way.

Image source, Getty Images

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:36.927

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.779

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.682

4. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.908

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +2.580 (soft)

Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, that big Sphere. Every Las Vegas landmark is being ticked off the list.

Zhou Guanyu suffers a twitch in the Sauber and locks his outside front tyre. The Chinese driver heads back to the pits on his cold medium compound for some TLC.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is annoyed with the traffic in Sin City.

Image source, Getty Images

This a circuit that should suit the Ferrari, so will we see Charles Leclerc securing back-to-back poles in Vegas?

The times are tumbling as the famous street track starts to give a little. Leclerc has improved to a marker in the 1:39s but it's not Lewis Hamilton - his future Ferrari team-mate - who goes quickest on the mediums with a 1:38.155.

The two Red Bulls are banking a few laps on the softs in the opening stages of this first practice sessions, while the rest of the field have opted for the medium tyres.

Last year's polesitter, Charles Leclerc, is a yellow runner and goes straight to the top of the timesheets with a 1:41.900.