Horner: Safety ‘paramount’ before we go running again

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that Las Vegas GP officials must make sure that “safety is paramount” before track action resumes following the cancellation of Thursday opening practice.

The session was red flagged after just nine minutes after the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz ground to a halt following an incident that took place as the Spaniard was cruising down the track’s Strip past the Bellagio hotel.

In Sainz’s onboard footage, a loud thump was heard followed by the Spaniard shutting off his engine and stopping his car on the straight, which immediately triggered a sequence of yellow and red flags.

CCTV footage showed the Ferrari with a sudden shower of sparks in its wake, suggesting that Sainz had hit a foreign object.

It later came to light that the Ferrari had dismantled a manhole structure which was sucked up by the SF-23’s underside venturi, inflicting significant damage to the car’s floor.

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Meanwhile, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was the victim of a similar incident although it’s not clear if the Frenchman struck the loose manhole hit by Sainz or dismantled another drain cover.

“We are all good [no damage] but we've seen damage to Alpine and I spoke to Fred [Vasseur] and Ferrari also has damage;” Horner told Sky F1. “Got to make sure safety is paramount before we go running again."

Indeed, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was understandably none too pleased with the costly incident.

"We damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery," he said. "I think it’s just unacceptable. It cost us a fortune.

"We fucked up the session for Carlos. We won’t be part of FP2 for sure. I think it’s just unacceptable for F1 today."

Over at Alpine, team principal Bruno Famin confirmed the heavy damage inflicted to Ocon’s car and which required a complete chassis change.

It was unclear at the time how the day’s schedule would unfold, with an extensive inspection of the track underway. But Famin doubted that Alpine would be able to build up a new chassis in time for FP2.

“Not totally impossible,” he said. “It should not be ready but I don’t know.

“If FP2 is a bit longer, if it is one-and-a-half hours which I have heard could be possible, we have a possibility to be back on the track before the end of FP2.”

Addressing the FP1 incident, an FIA spokesman said that the issue involved the concrete frame surrounding a manhole cover.

“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.”

A widespread and thorough inspection could spell the end to Thursday’s running, in which case the FIA is likely to extend the duration of Friday’s FP3.

Ahead of the session’s stoppage, several drivers predictably reported a lack of grip.

"It is not like Istanbul where the surface was super slippery, the surface is fresh but the temperatures were coming up and everything was behaving,” said Horner as he conveyed his drivers’ first impressions.

“It was just a shame the running got caught short as it was starting to come in. They said it is like driving in the wet on slicks but that is pretty normal for a new track."

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