Cars will race on the 2026 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix track on three nights. Practice is Thursday, Nov. 19, qualifying is Friday, Nov. 20, and the race starts at 11 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. The roadwork around those nights lasts much longer. The official Las Vegas Grand Prix transportation plan set track construction from Aug. 31 to Nov. 15 and teardown from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23.
That adds up to almost four months of lane changes on the roads people who live here use for work and errands. The race takes up a few hours of it. If you plan your season around race weekend alone, you'll miss the closures that last the longest. Those run into the weeks when out-of-town family visits and holiday dinners on the Strip fill the calendar.
Where the track already sits as November begins
The 3.8-mile circuit runs mostly on public roads, including Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane, Harmon Avenue and Sands Avenue, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. October brought the biggest setup job. The paper reported a 24/7 closure of Flamingo Road at Koval Lane from Oct. 11 through Oct. 16 while crews built a two-lane temporary bridge, and pointed drivers to Tropicana or Sands as east-west detours. Overnight lane reductions on Harmon, Sands and Koval ran through mid- and late October, FOX5 reported.
Part of that work is still in place as race week approaches. As of the Regional Transportation Commission's Oct. 22 update, Koval Lane is down to one lane in each direction between Rochelle Avenue and Westchester Drive. The overnight Las Vegas Boulevard closures that shut Deuce stops at Fashion Show Mall, Treasure Island, The Mirage, Caesars Palace and Bellagio/Cosmopolitan ended Oct. 30, and those stops are back in regular service.
Race week, night by night
The official F1 Las Vegas A-Z Guide gives the race-week closure windows for the track and its roads as a whole. It doesn't break them out street by street.
| Date | Track and roads close | Listed reopening |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 12:01 a.m. | 6 a.m. |
| Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 8 p.m. | 3 a.m. Thursday |
| Thursday, Nov. 19 | 1 p.m. | 12:30 a.m. |
| Friday, Nov. 20 | 1 p.m. | 12:01 a.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | 1 p.m. | 2 a.m. Sunday |
Closures start at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so they cover most of the afternoon as well as the night. Any off-Strip appointment that ends near the track after lunch on those days falls inside the window. For the exact streets on a given night, check the transportation plan's live race-week maps. Its Hot Track Road Closures and Getting Around the Closures maps are updated daily from Nov. 16 through Nov. 23.
You can still cross the track on foot. The A-Z Guide says the Sphere zone has a pedestrian bridge over the track with elevators at both ends. If you're taking a rideshare to or near the event, the guide lists pickup and drop-off zones at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Howard Hughes Center, Tuscany and Park MGM.
The bus map changes for nine days, not three
The RTC posted the race-week transit schedule on its alerts page. From Tuesday, Nov. 17 through Wednesday, Nov. 25, the Deuce and three local routes run major detours, and many stops along the Strip and nearby streets will close. The affected routes are:
- Route 119 on Koval and Simmons
- Route 202 on Flamingo
- Route 203 on Spring Mountain, Desert Inn and Lamb
- The Deuce on Las Vegas Boulevard
The agency posts exception schedules for Routes 119, 202 and 203 on that page and says full detour routes and stop lists will be posted before race week.
Several stops are already closed around the clock and stay closed after the cars leave. Stops 2505 and 2504 on Sands Avenue after Koval Lane and stop 2572 on westbound Spring Mountain Road after Las Vegas Boulevard are closed through Wednesday, Nov. 25. Seven Route 119 stops on Koval, from Rochelle Avenue up to Krueger Street, are closed through Friday, Dec. 18. If you ride the 119 to a job along Koval, your stop won't come back until four weeks after the race.
The $1 Monorail ride, and the booth to skip
The Las Vegas Monorail gives locals the best deal of race week. The A-Z Guide says it runs nonstop, 24 hours a day, from 7 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 through 3 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23. Locals can buy $1 single-ride tickets at any station customer service booth except Boingo Station. The guide lists booth hours as 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Nov. 19 to 21, and says only full-price tickets are sold once the booths close.
To get the local fare, the Monorail asks for proof of residency: a Nevada driver's license, a state-issued ID or a Nevada Sheriff Card. It also sets purchase limits. Buy your ride home before the booth closes at 11 p.m., not after a late dinner. The booths keep their regular hours even though the train runs all night.
In 2025, 8 News Now reported that some Strip hospitality workers parked at the Las Vegas Convention Center and took the Monorail in, and some employers gave out free passes. This year's 24/7 schedule makes the same route available again.
For traffic updates, FOX5 says texting "F1LV" to 31996 signs you up for twice-weekly traffic texts, and riders can follow RTC service alerts.
For watching without going near the track, the City of Henderson has a page for an Official Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Watch Party with free activities.
After Nov. 21, the closures move to the holiday weeks
Race weekend ends, and the teardown period begins on Monday, Nov. 23. The transportation plan publishes separate closure files for the weeks of Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21, with dismantling scheduled to finish Dec. 23. That puts five more weeks of nightly and daily work right in Thanksgiving week and the busiest stretch of holiday entertaining.
The longest-running closure sits at a familiar holiday stop. On Sept. 11, the Review-Journal reported that work on the Bellagio Fountain Club had closed the two right lanes of southbound Las Vegas Boulevard and the sidewalk in front of Bellagio, and that both would stay closed "through the end of December." FOX5 reported that hotel access stays open, with lane shifts from time to time.
If December plans include showing visiting relatives the fountains, or a holiday dinner on that stretch of the Boulevard, expect the southbound curb lanes and the sidewalk in front of Bellagio to still be closed. Coming in through the hotel's own entrances, or getting dropped off somewhere other than the Boulevard curb, will match how the block is set up this season.
The season on one page
- Now through Nov. 15: Track construction finishes. Koval stays at one lane each way between Rochelle and Westchester, and the Sands and Spring Mountain bus stops stay closed.
- Nov. 17 to Nov. 25: The Deuce and Routes 119, 202 and 203 run detours. The Monorail runs 24/7 from Nov. 17 to early Nov. 23.
- Nov. 18 to Nov. 21: Track and road closures follow the night-by-night windows above, starting at 1 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
- Nov. 19 to Nov. 21: $1 local Monorail rides at station booths, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., except at Boingo Station.
- Nov. 23 to Dec. 23: Teardown, with weekly closure maps from the transportation plan.
- Through Dec. 18: Seven Route 119 stops on Koval stay closed.
- Through the end of December: Two southbound Las Vegas Boulevard lanes and the sidewalk in front of Bellagio stay closed.
Lisa Quam has lived in Las Vegas for more than 40 years and has seen plenty of seasons like this one change how the city gets around. If race week or the December teardown lines up with a showing, a closing or family coming in to look at homes, Fine Home Specialist can help you plan the dates and routes so the day goes smoothly. Book an appointment, and we'll set a schedule that works around the closures.
