Las Vegas Strip Circuit by the Numbers: What the Data Says Before the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix

This is the Happy Hour Racing Formula 1 Track Preview series. There is no Grand Prix this weekend, so this is a between-races data feature on the circuit that hosts the next one.

The Short Version

Formula 1 is between races. The 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix is next, and it runs Saturday November 21 with lights out at 11:00 PM ET on Apple TV. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is only three years old, it has produced only three races, and the pattern in those three races is tighter than you would expect from a brand new street track. Here is every number that matters before the cars get there.

A Street Circuit That Races Like Monza

Most street tracks are slow. Las Vegas is not. The lap is 6.201 km (3.853 miles) around 17 corners, and a 1.2-mile run down Las Vegas Boulevard puts the cars flat out past the Bellagio and Caesars Palace for longer than almost any straight on the calendar. Average speeds here sit in Monza territory, which is why a track squeezed between hotels ends up being one of the fastest laps all year.

The race is 50 laps, or 309.958 km. Max Verstappen holds the lap record at 1:33.365, set in 2025. The quickest qualifying lap anyone has managed is George Russell's 1:32.312 pole from 2024, and Yuki Tsunoda has the highest recorded speed at 222.6 mph. It is also the only race on the schedule run entirely at night in cold desert air, which is the single biggest reason teams struggle here: getting tires into their working range on a track surface that never warms up.

Three Races, and a Pattern Already Forming

Three editions is a small sample, but it is a consistent one. Verstappen has won two of the three. Russell has the other, from pole in 2024. And no Las Vegas winner has ever started worse than second on the grid, which tells you that for all the talk about long straights and easy passing, track position here has mattered more than the layout suggests.

The poles tell a different story. Charles Leclerc took the first one in 2023, Russell the second in 2024, and Lando Norris the third in 2025. Three races, three different pole sitters, and only one of them converted it into a win.

Both 2026 Titles Are Already Gone

Here is the part that changes how you watch the last three races. Andrea Kimi Antonelli wrapped up the 2026 drivers' championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on November 1, becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history at 20 years and 68 days old. A week later at Interlagos, Mercedes sealed the constructors' title, the team's ninth and its first since 2021, which moves it level with Williams for third on the all-time list.

Antonelli sits on 390 points with nine wins. With 75 points still on the table across Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, nobody can reach him, and no sprint races remain to change that math. What is left is a genuinely good fight for second, and five drivers are still in it.

Standings after Round 20 of 23. You can track the rest of the season on our Formula 1 schedule and standings page.

That matters for Las Vegas specifically. Verstappen owns the track record here and two of the three wins. Russell has the only other win and has been on the podium in two of three editions. The two drivers with the best Las Vegas history are the two drivers fighting over second in the championship, which is about as clean a setup as a season finale run can give you.

New year, new trophy. 12:00PM PT.

#LasVegasGP #F1

- F1 Las Vegas (@F1LasVegas) November 13, 2026

What 2026 Changed on the Strip

This is the first Las Vegas Grand Prix under the new rules, and the headline change is that DRS is gone. In its place the cars run active aerodynamics, with front and rear wings that switch between a low-drag Straight Mode and a high-downforce Corner Mode, plus an Overtake setting that dumps extra battery power to a driver chasing the car ahead.

On a normal circuit that is a technical footnote. On a track with a 1.2-mile straight it is the whole race. The 2026 power units run a roughly 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power on fully sustainable fuel, and the cars are lighter, with the minimum weight down to 768 kg. How teams manage battery deployment down Las Vegas Boulevard, rather than where the old DRS line sat, is now the thing that decides whether a pass happens.

The Bottom Line

The championships are settled, so Las Vegas is not about the title. It is about a 222 mph street circuit, a five-driver scrap for second, and the first time the new rules get turned loose on the fastest straight in Formula 1. That is a better reason to stay up late than most championship deciders give you.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix?

Saturday November 21, 2026, with lights out at 11:00 PM ET (8:00 PM local time in Las Vegas). The race weekend runs November 19 to 21.

What channel is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on?

Apple TV carries Formula 1 in the United States under an exclusive deal that began with the 2026 season. F1 is no longer on ESPN.

How long is the Las Vegas Strip Circuit?

6.201 km, or 3.853 miles, with 17 corners. The Grand Prix is 50 laps for a total race distance of 309.958 km.

Who has won the most Las Vegas Grands Prix?

Max Verstappen, with two wins in the three races held at the Strip circuit so far (2023 and 2025). George Russell won the other, in 2024.

Who won the 2026 F1 championship?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched the drivers' title at the Mexico City Grand Prix, and Mercedes clinched the constructors' title a week later in Brazil.

Shop Formula 1 Gear

If you are getting ready for a Saturday night on the Strip, we have the Las Vegas race gear plus the rest of the Formula 1 collection in stock.

• Scuderia Ferrari Garage Crew Las Vegas Special Edition T-Shirt
• PUMA Formula 1 Las Vegas Special Edition T-Shirt, Black
• Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team x Mad Dog Jones Hamilton Ball Cap
• McLaren F1 Lifestyle New Era 9Fifty Camo Baseball Hat
• Red Bull Racing F1 Special Edition USA GP T-Shirt

More caps and team gear in the Formula 1 hats collection.