F1 Las Vegas GP: Norris tops red flag-interrupted second practice

Lando Norris headlined Formula 1's second practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was interrupted twice in the final 20 minutes by red flags for a suspected loose manhole cover at Turn 17.

In a session preceded by light rain, it took five minutes before the drivers elected to brave a presumably slippery circuit - and it took much of the opening half to build up towards Charles Leclerc's 1m34.802s benchmark from FP1.

Oscar Piastri was first to surpass Leclerc's earlier time amid the early medium-tyre runs, and the times continued to develop as the circuit rubbered in further. Eventually, Leclerc landed on the best time amid the first-stage medium runs, settling on a 1m33.763s - a full second faster than his time from earlier in the evening.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli then toppled Leclerc's effort with his first tour on the softs, before Lando Norris nudged ahead by 0.03s to move to the top of the order.

The soft tyre running was then put on hiatus following a red flag with 21 minutes remaining, following the marshal's report of a suspected loose drain cover at Turn 17.

This was inspected by the FIA race control team and, after a 15-minute pause, was deemed that the session could resume with six minutes remaining.

Marshals and circuit staff gather to repair a drain cover on track which caused a red flag

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

While all 20 cars returned to the circuit, now sporting both soft and medium tyres, Leclerc had to duck behind the barrier at Turn 5 owing to a gearbox issue; the Monegasque was told not to use his gear shift and ultimately parked up to bring his session to an early end.

Ultimately, this did not affect his running versus the other drivers; the session was red-flagged once again as the concern over the Turn 17 drain cover continued to persist.

This ensured that Norris' lap could remain the fastest, ahead of Antonelli and the medium-tyre lap set by Leclerc earlier in the session.

Nico Hulkenberg was fourth-fastest over Isack Hadjar, who was just 0.008s clear of Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson. George Russell was seventh ahead of Alex Albon, while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10.

Title contender Piastri was only 14th, having been unable to improve on his medium tyre run during his first effort on the soft tyre.

F1 Las Vegas GP - FP2 results

FP2

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	13	1'33.602		S	238.494
2	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+0.029 1'33.631	0.029	S	238.421
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	16	+0.161 1'33.763	0.132	M	238.085
4	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	14	+0.277 1'33.879	0.116	S	237.791
5	I. Hadjar RB	6		RB	Honda	16	+0.291 1'33.893	0.014	S	237.755
6	L. Lawson RB	30		RB	Honda	16	+0.299 1'33.901	0.008	S	237.735
7	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+0.435 1'34.037	0.136	M	237.391
8	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	17	+0.465 1'34.067	0.030	S	237.315
9	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	16	+0.503 1'34.105	0.038	M	237.220
10	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	17	+0.525 1'34.127	0.022	M	237.164
11	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	15	+0.589 1'34.191	0.064	S	237.003
12	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	18	+0.771 1'34.373	0.182	M	236.546
13	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	16	+0.833 1'34.435	0.062	M	236.391
14	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	12	+0.891 1'34.493	0.058	M	236.246
15	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	16	+1.090 1'34.692	0.199	M	235.749
16	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Renault	18	+1.222 1'34.824	0.132	M	235.421
17	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	17	+1.384 1'34.986	0.162	M	235.019
18	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	14	+1.410 1'35.012	0.026	S	234.955
19	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	18	+1.626 1'35.228	0.216	M	234.422
20	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	15	+1.897 1'35.499	0.271	H	233.757
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