Las Vegas GP brought forward by two hours as F1 2025 race times revealed

The start time of the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been brought forwards by two hours to an 8pm slot for the 2025 edition - meaning the Formula 1 race will now start at 4am in the United Kingdom.

This is different from the first two races held on the city’s Strip Circuit street track, with Vegas returning to the F1 calendar following a 41-year absence in 2023 and that grand prix plus the 2024 follow-up both started at 10pm local time.

The change brings Vegas in line with other night races on the current schedule, as like in 2024 the Jeddah and Singapore races will again commence at 8pm – per a document distributed by the FIA on Monday.

The significantly later start for the Vegas action in the last two years was partly intended to minimise disruption for the host city, where large swathes of the streets around the famous Las Vegas Boulevard must be partially closed in the run-up to the event and then fully closed on track days.

Like in 2023 and 2024, for Vegas these start on Thursday with the grand prix taking place on Saturday night.

But this different scheduling to typical F1 weekends is not taking place for the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races in 2025, as part of the calendar switch for these races to be run later in the season this time around.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

This is due to Ramadan happening throughout March, with Australia – where the race will start at 3pm locally and 4am in the UK – regaining its traditional place as season-opener for the first time since its lost 2020 race at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The change for Vegas means its new start time provides a better east coast timezone slot for viewers in that part of the United States, where previously they were joining Europe in viewing the contest in the early hours of Sunday. The race will now start at 11pm ET on Saturday, as opposed to 1am on Sunday morning.

A better start time on the east coast is also beneficial for F1 in attracting coverage from the major media organisations in that region, which is understood to have at least partly factored into the race start time change.

At the 2023 Vegas race, which was embarrassingly disrupted for organisers early on due to the loose water valve cover being struck by then Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, an estimated final track creation time went from two-and-a-half-hours to around 45 minutes, but despite this progress the 10pm start time was preserved for last year’s race - won by Mercedes’ George Russell.

In a statement provided to Autosport, a spokesperson for the LVGP said: “This adjustment is based on feedback, insights and experience from the first two races, expanding opportunities for fans to explore the destination and continuing to engage with more fans across the US.

“Details on the event and road closure schedules will be shared in the coming months.”

The rest of the start times for the other 23 races commence in the same slots as their 2024 events.

The British GP at Silverstone will take place at 3pm locally, meaning the race will start an hour later than other European events for UK viewers - the same shift for those watching on the continent.