The FIA have launched an investigation after the second practice session at the Las Vegas Grand Prix was red flagged due to an unseen incident.
The drivers head to the United States again for the 22nd race of the calendar with Lando Norris establishing a 24-lead over his teammate Oscar Piastri in the race for the Drivers’ World Championship trophy. Max Verstappen’s comeback looks to be over after dropping 49 points behind the Brit but Norris cannot clinch the title this weekend. Nevertheless, McLaren have historically struggled at the Vegas circuit due to the long straights and colder track temperature with both drivers finishing 6th and 7th last year.
During the second free practice session of the 2025 race, it was difficult to truly get an idea of their true pace after the session was red flagged twice.
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Red flags were thrown with 21 minutes remaining before the session restarted with six minutes left on the clock, but just two minutes later it was stopped permanently.
The FIA confirmed the session was stopped as marshals reported a manhole cover was moving as cars passed over it and confirmed an investigation was underway.
Their statement read: “Some Race Control personnel remained on-site when the session was restarted.
"They reported that the manhole cover was moving as cars passed over it, which led to the session being ended under red-flag conditions. Further inspections are under way."
A manhole cover is a heavy metal lid that covers access points to underground utilities on street circuits as they are not part of the racetrack design but the city’s normal infrastructure. They are usually wielded or bolted prior to the race weekend to prevent accidents but it’s not the first time they’ve been an issue in Las Vegas.
During Vegas’ debut on the F1 calendar back in 2023, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was severely damaged by a manhole cover causing the first practice session to be abandoned and a two-hour delay to FP2.
To add insult to injury for the Spaniard, the FIA imposed a 10-second grid penalty to Ferrari for replacing their components as the rules didn’t take into account ‘unusual circumstances’ which ruined his race weekend.
After hearing of more manhole troubles, Sainz said: “Let’s see what was the issue with the drain cover or the manhole cover, whatever that was.
“It doesn’t bring me very good memories, so hopefully they’re sorting it.”
The F1 academy later held their qualifying session on the track so it seems the issues have been resolved.
Marcus Banks