Lando Norris was the fastest in Las Vegas during the second practice session that had to be halted for 19 minutes due to a loose manhole cover issue.
Norris, who currently leads the championship by 24 points going into the final three races of the season, edged out Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes by a mere 0.029 seconds on the Strip. Max Verstappen, trailing by 49 points in the title chase, finished ninth, while Norris’ teammate at McLaren, Oscar Piastri, came in 14th.
The practice session had to be stopped twice due to reports of a loose drain cover at the last corner of the track. This incident brought back memories of a similar occurrence two years ago when a manhole cover came loose and caused damage to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari at high speed. The session was initially paused at 8:38 pm local time.
The FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, issued a statement saying that the session was red-flagged as a precautionary measure after receiving reports of a potential loose manhole cover. A delay of 16 minutes ensued before the session resumed for the final six minutes, with the FIA expressing confidence in the track’s safety. However, the session was red-flagged again after just three minutes of running.
Another statement from the FIA revealed that race control personnel noted the manhole cover moving as cars passed over it, leading to the session’s termination under red-flag conditions. Further investigations into the issue are ongoing.
The Las Vegas race, unique on the F1 calendar as it is organized by F1’s American owners, Liberty Media, faced interruptions that affected the competitiveness of the drivers due to the distorted timesheet caused by the stoppages.
The current season is nearing its climax in Las Vegas, with only races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi left to follow. While McLaren has been dominant this year, the street circuit in Las Vegas has not been favorable for their cars in the previous races held in Nevada.
In the earlier session of the weekend, Norris struggled with wide turns and finished sixth. However, the British driver, aiming for his first world championship, showed promising speed in the final interrupted session of the day.
