F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix week: What to expect driving around the resort corridor

The Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix returns to the resort corridor this week — and with it a slew of traffic restrictions.

The week will feature the potential for traffic restrictions each day, many with hours of full closures of the 3.8-mile Grand Prix circuit, mainly comprised of public roadways including Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues.

During race week, the circuit will feature three conditions for the roads within the track.

“Warm track” is when the roads are mostly open to motorists, but additional barriers and some potential traffic restrictions are in place to allow for quick closing of the track when needed.

“Transition” is when the track is transitioning from warm track to hot track, when racing will occur on the circuit.

“Hot track” is when the circuit is fully closed to public traffic. Track barriers will be in place around the circuit, closing off roads leading into the track. Roadways leading up to the circuit will also experience lane restrictions during hot track hours. Nearby north-south roadways such as Paradise Road will experience heavy traffic on Grand Prix nights.

Here’s a schedule of when the circuit will be in the three stages over race week.

Monday: Warm track all day, except for potential minor traffic restrictions.

Tuesday: Warm track all day, except for potential minor traffic restrictions.

Wednesday: The circuit will be in transition between midnight Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday. Between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., the circuit will be in hot track and closed to the public. Following that, the track will move to warm track between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., where the track will shift to transition between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The circuit will be in hot track between 10 p.m. and early Thursday.

Thursday: The circuit will continue to be in hot track until 3 a.m., where it will shift back to warm track until 1 p.m. A transition period will occur between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., before the circuit is back in hot track until early Friday as the first two practice rounds take place.

Friday: The circuit will be in hot track until 12:30 a.m., where it will then go back to warm track until 1 p.m., when a transition period will start and run through 3 p.m. At 3 p.m., the track will return to hot track for the first race of the F1 Academy women’s series and the third practice round and qualifying for F1. The hot track will remain in place through midnight.

Saturday: The day will see the circuit begin in warm track until 1 p.m., where it will shift to a transition period until 3 p.m. Then the track moves into hot track for the remainder of the day as the third annual Las Vegas Grand Prix and associated F1 Academy second race takes place.

Sunday: The hot track period from Saturday will bleed into Sunday and last until 2 a.m. where it will then shift to warm track for the remainder of the day, as race week comes to an end.

Contact Mick Akers at makers @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.