Streets flooded
Shortly before the Formula 1 race: water alarm in Las Vegas
November 19, 2025 – 10:20 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Formula 1 cars are scheduled to drive through the streets of Las Vegas again on Friday. However, there are currently extremely adverse conditions there.
A few days before the start of the Formula 1 weekend in the US metropolis of Las Vegas, the roads in the desert city are in poor condition. As various images and videos circulating on the Internet show, heavy rains have flooded some streets in the city in the US state of Nevada. A video by the well-known Formula 1 photographer Kym Illmann also shows the masses of water.
The Formula 1 race track runs through the streets of Las Vegas and also includes the famous “Strip” of the gambling metropolis. However, the cars cannot drive on flooded roads. The first training session of the race weekend is scheduled to take place on Friday German time, i.e. on Thursday local time.
Larger bodies of water are a problem for Las Vegas because the desert city has good weather for much of the year and the sewage system is therefore not as developed as in other cities.
According to a report in “Bild”, those responsible for the racing series around Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali are still optimistic that the race weekend will go ahead as planned. Some other pictures also show the racetrack’s pit lane in good condition. The probability of rain should also decrease over the course of the race weekend.
The conduct of the race is by no means irrelevant from a sporting point of view: the two McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as well as defending champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull are still fighting a three-way battle for the drivers’ championship. Norris currently leads the standings with a 24-point lead over Piastri. Verstappen is already quite behind, 49 points behind. Las Vegas is the third-to-last race of the season ahead of the weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. There will also be a sprint race in Qatar. A maximum of 83 points are still available.