F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Las Vegas GP: Loose manhole cover forces FP1 cancellation!

It was an inauspicious start to the Las Vegas GP weekend, with Thursday’s opening practice concluding after just nine minutes following an incident involving the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

Sainz was cruising down Las Vegas’ Strip on an early reconnaissance lap when a loud thump was heard, jolting the Spaniard’s SF-23 and forcing the car to an immediate halt and triggering a red flag.

Shortly after, it was reported that the underside of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine had also suffered a massive impact with an unidentified object while passing Sainz’s car.

Damage to the underside of the Alpine was considerable, with the team suspecting that a chassis change was in order.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur also indicated that the underside of Sainz’s car had also been heavily damaged.

It was immediately found that a loose manhole cover had been the culprit of the destruction, which justified the cancellation of the remainder of FP1 as a thorough track inspection was scheduled.

“Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed," the FIA explained in a statement.

"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."

The prospect of a lengthy process to verify the hundreds of manhole structures around the track did not bode well for the remainder of the day.

The situation recalled the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when George Russell’s Williams sustained heavy damage after hitting a loose drain cover.

Ahead of the FP1 stoppage, Charles Leclerc had set the fastest lap in 1M44.019s.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

52 mins ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

2 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

3 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

5 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

5 hours ago

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

6 hours ago