Lando Norris topped the timesheets in Las Vegas during a second practice session that was halted for 19 minutes – by a faulty manhole cover. Norris, who has a 24-point championship advantage going into the final three rounds of the season, edged out Mercedes‘ Kimi Antonelli by just 0.029 seconds on the Vegas Strip.
Max Verstappen, trailing by 49 points in the title fight, could only manage ninth place whilst Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri languished in 14th. But the second session of the evening was red-flagged on two occasions following reports of a displaced drain cover at the 17th and final corner. The interruptions brought back memories of the inaugural event held here two years ago when a manhole cover came loose and smashed into Carlos Sainz‘s Ferrari at 200mph.
The one-hour session on Thursday was first brought to a halt at 8.38pm local time. A statement from F1’s governing body, the FIA, read: “Following a marshal report of a possible loose manhole cover before Turn 17, race control were unable to confirm this information from the CCTV available. The session has been red-flagged as a precautionary measure, and race control personnel are currently on site assessing the situation.”
A 16-minute interruption ensued before the pit-lane reopened for the remaining six minutes with the FIA declaring they were “confident” everything was in order.
However, the cars had only returned to the street circuit for three minutes when another red flag was deployed. A second FIA statement read: “Some race control personnel remained on-site when the session was restarted. They reported that the manhole cover was moving as cars passed over it, which led to the session being ended under red-flag conditions. Further inspections are underway.”
The Las Vegas race stands as the sole event on the calendar promoted by F1’s American proprietors Liberty Media. The international television feed – managed by F1 – avoided broadcasting the problematic section of the circuit during both delays.
The disruptions resulted in a skewed timesheet with several leading drivers unable to record a competitive lap on the fastest soft tyre compound. The season is approaching its dramatic conclusion in Las Vegas with just two remaining rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
McLaren have predominantly dominated proceedings this season, yet the street circuit along the Strip has proved unsuitable for their car in the last two races held in Nevada.
During the weekend’s initial running, Norris went off track twice at Turn 12 on two rapid attempts, concluding in sixth position only. However, the Briton, pursuing his maiden title, will draw confidence from his pace during the day’s disrupted final session.
