1. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 1:36.657

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.003

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.006

4. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.031

5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.053

Only five cars out on track at the moment. Maybe we all need a boost of adrenaline again. I've got a bag of giant chocolate orange buttons from a well-known shop that begins with 'M' and ends with 'S'. I've scoffed half but should I just go all out and eat them all? It's probably going to happen.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is the top dog with a 1:36.657 on the softs. The Aston Martin driver has beaten Charles Leclerc's marker by just 0.003 secs.

Definitely no sprint this weekend. Could you imagine?! Mind-blowing to think it's 3:15am in Las Vegas and we still have cars on track.

A shock winner would be a good tonic after all this faffing and delays. What about Alex Albon? The Williams driver is a soft runner and goes third quickest with a time just 0.028 secs off the pace of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

This is a much better start for Mercedes after their horrible run in Brazil. For Mercedes they need a non sprint race weekend, they've been caught out recently on the sprints.

Lewis Hamilton is next to cross the line and the seven-time world champion goes second. The gap to Charles Leclerc? Just 0.003 seconds. Same soft tyres, too.

Can Ferrari translate a decent practice performance into a winning race day? Maybe the unknown of Las Vegas might help. Max Verstappen has been pushed down to second, as Charles Leclerc slips into the best seat in the house with a 1:36.660 on the softs. Team-mate Carlos Sainz is 0.082 secs behind in second.

George Russell is one of the drivers aiming to bounce back Vegas after a rubbish Sao Paulo Grand Prix two weeks ago. Mercedes said it was their "worse weekend in 13 years" at Interlagos Russell isn't knocking on the door of the frontrunners just yet. The Briton was seventh but as now moved down to ninth. Lewis Hamilton has moved up to fourth spot. Both men are on the soft compound.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

Lots of laps starting to come in on a second set of tyres. With a 90 minutes session this used to be the norm, it's back down to 60.

This is pretty important running that the drivers would have. this is the time to find your braking points, to maybe overcook it and dial it back if you need to.

Pirelli have brought the softest tyres in the range for this weekend's inaugural event and the top eight drivers are running the red rubber currently.

Carlos Sainz is still top but he has a new opponent to battle with on the timesheets. It's Max Verstappen, who clocks a 1:37.132 in the Red Bull to go second. The Dutchman needs to find almost four tenths to knock the Ferrari off its perch.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I guess it was for track position [Verstappen blocking Leclerc] but we still have an hour left.

Max was certainly getting his elbows out.

The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Red Bull of Max Verstappen are getting the elbows out already for Sunday's (Saturday night in Las Vegas) grand prix. "Max is racing already," says Leclerc.

Elsewhere on the Strip, Carlos Sainz and his new car are back on top. The Spaniard leads the field from Sergio Perez with a time 0.823 secs quicker than the Mexican driver.

Rich Cassidy: I really hope F1 and FIA can turn the ship around in 2024. F1 used to be an amazing spectacle but the last few years have seen it desperately cranking up the drama at the expense of the sport. The Las Vegas GP seems to be the pinnacle of this sorry state of affairs.

Update on Lando Norris' car from McLaren: "Quick repair job by the mechanics and Lando is back on track. Great work, team."

Image source, McLaren X

Carlos Sainz will take a drop of 10 places for the Las Vegas Grand Prix for exceeding power unit components after hitting the manhole cover on first practice.

Oof.

I will say the Sphere looks fantastic as the cars drive by. The giant doll from Squid Games has just been projected it and her eyes were darting along the track. I'll give Vegas that one.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:38.209 (medium)

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.116 (soft)

3. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.299 (soft)

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.328 (soft)

5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.483 (medium)

It's fair to say Max Verstappen hasn't been the biggest cheerleader for the Las Vegas Grand Prix but the Dutchman won't turn down a record-extending 18th win of the 2023 season on the famous Strip.

The Dutchman is nine laps in and has moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:38.209 on the medium compound.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter

They're [McLaren] both in the garage, the problem for Lando is because the car has a cooling issue. Losing precious time out on track but good to get that issue sorted so they can take part in this much longer practice session.

Yellow flagpublished at 10:44 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2023

10:44 GMT 17 November 2023

Lance Stroll has spun in the final sector but the Aston Martin driver has recovered with ease and is back on his way. Track is green again.

The track is ramping up now after this long delay in Las Vegas. First has become second for Charles Leclerc, as Lewis Hamilton becomes the new quickest runner with a time over two tenths faster than the Ferrari driver.

This is like the pandemic season. Not one single fan is watching the (very expensive) second practice action.