Leclerc, who came into the weekend amid some outspoken comments from Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who urged his drivers to focus on their driving, tentatively plotted his way around the green track that was severely lacking in grip.

The Las Vegas Street Circuit is obviously not used as a race track, so there was no grippy rubber laid down, making it extremely slippery, not helped by the recent downpours in Vegas.

But Leclerc, who responded to Elkann, looked untroubled to set the early pace, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was only quick enough for 11th place, while his Ferrari team had some concerns about his front wheel rims.

Championship leader, Lando Norris, escaped a brush with the wall to sit in sixth place in the timesheets. Max Verstappen, who remains in the championship hunt and desperately needs a win in Vegas to keep his hopes of a fifth world title alive, was fourth, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was eighth and looking at another tricky weekend.

But it was a solid first practice session for Williams duo Alex Albon, who despite suffering some lock-ups, was second-quickest, while Carlos Sainz was fifth.

Under pressure, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, who faces questions about his future in the team, was third-quickest, which will provide a much-needed boost for the Japanese driver.

Isack Hadjar, the man linked with replacing Tsunoda, was seventh. George Russell was ninth, while his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli was 10th to round out the top 10.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted the conditions were tricky for his drivers to manage, with many predicting that Russell is capable of repeating his win in Vegas 12 months ago.

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