Lando Norris took the lead in the second practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after it was stopped for more than 15 minutes due to a suspected loose drain cover.
Between Turns 16 and 17, trackside marshals discovered a possible loose fixing on the road surface, and race control was activated and the session was halted as a precaution.
That was the exact moment the field switched to soft tires for the qualifying simulation run. Only seven drivers, including Norris, completed one lap on the soft, but most drivers still found areas to improve by completing multiple laps.
There was just over 20 minutes left in the session, but there was an interruption of more than 15 minutes before the pit lane reopened, leaving just six minutes remaining.
It should have been enough time for the field to filter onto the track in an orderly manner, and enough time for everyone to complete one lap, but the session was stopped again due to what race control described as “track maintenance”, effectively interrupting the running time.
The FIA later confirmed that the second suspension was once again caused by a drain cover not being secured before Turn 17.
This is the second Las Vegas Grand Prix session in the last three years to be affected by loose track surfaces. FP1, the first race to be held in 2023, was canceled after a water valve cover came loose and destroyed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari just minutes into the session.
Thanks to the dual suspension, Norris, who had just completed a flying lap before the suspension, remained in the top spot.
Combined with rain before the session, drivers were urged not to enter the track until nearly 10 minutes into the session, and FP2 ended with little running ahead of qualifying day.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was second, just 0.029 seconds behind, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc third, 0.161 seconds off the pace.
However, Leclerc’s session had ended before the second red flag, when his gearbox failed just before Turn 5, forcing him to park behind the barriers.
The top three drivers all completed one lap on soft tires, with Nico Hulkenberg, Isaac Hajjar and Liam Lawson also following in fourth to sixth place.
Lance Stroll also completed a flying lap on the soft, but the Canadian finished 11th.
George Russell was seventh, just 0.435 seconds off the pace, and had just completed two sectors of flying laps on the soft (including the purple first sector) when the first red flag was shown.
Alex Albon followed Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Stroll.
Pierre Gasly was 12th, followed by Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Franco Folapinto, Oliver Bearman, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortleto, all of whom were unable to mark a lap on soft tires due to a red flag.
