First practice for Las Vegas GP cancelled after just eight minutes of running

First practice for Las Vegas GP cancelled after just eight minutes of running

 

 

 

The race was initially red flagged with just over 50 minutes remaining on the clock after Carlos Sainz pulled to the side of the track.It soon emerged that Sainz had hit some sort of bump, damaging the floor of his car, which turned his engine off.It transpired that the bump was in fact a loose drain cover.Replays showed Sainz violently going over it, even though he had lifted due to the yellow flags.

Fortunately, Sainz was uninjured by the impact.Shortly after, the FIA announced that the session will not resume as it will take time to assess the issue as safety is paramount.The FIA released a statement, stating: “We are currently looking at an issue with a drain cover, which is the reason for the current delay.”Alpine were also affected by it with Esteban Ocon, with the French team forced to change his chassis due to the damage sustained.In terms of lap times – albeit unrepresentative given the limited running – Charles Leclerc was 2.5s clear of Nico Hulkenberg at the top of the timesheets.Related Alpine forced to change Ocon’s chassis after damage from Vegas drain cover F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 – Friday Practice ResultsLooking ahead to the FP2, the FIA confirmed they will check every drain cover at the circuit to ensure it’s safe to drive.The FIA added: “Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed,” he said. “We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time.“We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.” 

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