Problems with the Manhole Cover Halt Practice in Las Vegas
The second practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was interrupted twice on Thursday night due to concerns about a loose manhole cover near Turn 17. The stoppages recalled a similar incident that occurred at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix two years ago, when a water valve cover came loose on The Strip and damaged the underside of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. The 2023 incident caused the first practice session to end early and the second practice to be delayed until the early hours of the following day. The first interruption on Thursday occurred as a precaution after a track marshal reported that a manhole cover appeared to be loose. The session suspension allowed race control personnel to visit Turn 17 and inspect the manhole cover, and the FIA issued a statement 15 minutes later assuring that it was “confident that everything is in suitable condition to resume the session”. However, in the final stages of the session, a second red flag was displayed amid more concerns about the manhole cover, ultimately depleting the time of the second practice.Loose manhole covers are not unusual in urban circuits and tend to come loose due to the forces generated by the underside of F1 cars, which are designed to generate low pressure and suck the car to the track.“Some race control personnel remained on site when the session was restarted,” said an FIA statement after the second red flag. “They reported that the manhole cover was moving as the cars passed over it, which led to the session ending under red flag conditions. Further inspections are being carried out.”
FIA
Although the premature end of Thursday’s second practice marked the end of the F1 program for the night, the F1 Academy was able to carry out its qualifying session 32 minutes after the end of FP2 with only a two-minute delay from the scheduled start time.
