Las Vegas GP: Manhole cover drama leaves questions open as Norris rebounds in FP2

Michelle Foster
Lando Norris laps Vegas

Lando Norris was P1 in FP2

Lando Norris finished second practice in Las Vegas quickest of all, but several of his rivals were on personal bests when the session was red-flagged for the second time for manhole cover issues.

The championship leader posted a 1:33.602 to finish 0.029s ahead of Kimi Antonelli with Charles Leclerc, who has gear shift issues late in the session, third fastest.

Lando Norris sets the pace in FP2 but…

FP2 got underway at 8pm local time… to silence. None of the drivers were eager to get out, with Pierre Gasly the first some six minutes into the hour-long session.

Within minutes, the rest of the field poured out with Lewis Hamilton going quickest before Franco Colapinto took over – eight seconds to the good.

As the lap times stabilised as the drivers got their tyres up to temperature, Max Verstappen hit the front before Kimi Antonelli took over in the Mercedes with a 1:35.7.

Championship leader Lando Norris, almost 20 minutes into the session, was the final driver to clock a lap time. Clearly not happy with the rear grip of his MCL39, he was backed off after a near-miss in the run-off area.

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Getting his tyres up to temperature, Norris improved to sixth before jumping up to P1 with a 1:33.9 which put him a tenth up on Verstappen with Hamilton third ahead of Alex Albon, Russell and Oscar Piastri.

Charles Leclerc, the FP1 pace-setter, was down in 12th place where he was a second off the pace. He rebounded to go P1, two-tenths up on Norris.

As Norris’ grip struggles continued, he found himself the wrong way up an escape road. But he wasn’t the first, with Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar also caught out by the lack of grip.

Midway through the session, Leclerc led Liam Lawson, the first driver to swap to the soft C5 Pirelli tyres, ahead of Norris, Russell, Verstappen and Hamilton.

As more drivers swapped to the soft tyres for their qualifying sims, Norris hit the front with a 1:33.6 ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc.

But with 20 minutes, and several drivers on hot laps, out came the first red flag of the session…

Drain cover!

Race Control announced: “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.”

As one pickup truck after another arrived, they soon left the scene, confident that the manhole cover was secure.

“Following inspection, we are confident everything is in a suitable condition to resume the session,” was the updated note.

The session resumed with six minutes on the clock.

Leclerc’s session, though, was over out of Turn 5. “Something broke gear shift,” he said, before asking Ferrari if he could continue. He was told not to.

However, his rivals also got a no as the session was red flagged with two minutes on the clock. Track maintenance was the message.

Norris finished fastest with a 1:33.602, 0.029s ahead of Antonelli with Leclerc third. Several drivers, though, were improving their personal bests when the session was stopped.

Race Control noted: “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.”

Las Vegas Grand Prix, Free Practice 2 results

1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.602
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.029
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.161
4 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +0.277
5 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.291
6 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.299
7 George Russell Mercedes +0.435
8 Alexander Albon Williams +0.465
9 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.503
10 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.525
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.589
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.771
13 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.833
14 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.891
15 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +1.090
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.222
17 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.384
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.410
19 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Tea +1.626
20 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.897

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