Las Vegas Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Session shortened for safety reasons after 6 minutes
The Las Vegas Grand Prix has not yet revealed all its secrets. After a collision caused by a bump on Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, the red flag was deployed and the FIA chose to stop the session after only 6 minutes of elapsed time.
The drivers wanted some track time to rub in the new circuit and get used to the boulevards of Las Vegas, but they will have to wait for Free Practice 2. Indeed, Free Practice 1, starting at 5:30 am this Friday morning in France, 8:30 pm in Las Vegas, lasted only 7 minutes before the red flag was waved.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was stopped with his Ferrari on the Strip boulevard during his 4th lap. The Ferrari driver had to abandon his Ferrari in a straight line for a strange reason. The onboard cameras show that the Ferrari seemed to jump over a bump and then came to a stop for safety reasons. The Ferrari driver was then asked to immediately stop his car.
At the same time, we saw Esteban Ocon come into the pit to repair his flat floor. While the official details are not yet known, the FIA deployed the red flag for safety reasons, in order to prevent the cars from getting damaged and the drivers from taking a risk on a bump in the middle of the straight.
After 7 minutes, therefore only 6 under a green flag, the FIA waved the red flag, ordering all drivers to return to the pits. Niels Wiitch, the FIA race director for this weekend, moved to the location of the incident and subsequently ordered the session to be canceled.
The ranking is therefore currently not representative of the strengths at play.
The result of Free Practice 1 of the Las Vegas GP after only 7 minutes of running
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:40.909 | 4 | |
| 2 | Hülkenberg | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:43.446 | +2.537 | 4 |
| 3 | Magnussen | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:44.261 | +3.352 | 4 |
| 4 | Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:44.397 | +3.488 | 4 |
| 5 | Ocon | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:45.365 | +4.456 | 5 |
| 6 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:45.497 | +4.588 | 4 |
| 7 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:45.824 | +4.915 | 4 |
| 8 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri | 1:45.908 | +4.999 | 5 |
| 9 | Perez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:46.793 | +5.884 | 4 |
| 10 | Bottas | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | 1:47.147 | +6.238 | 5 |
| 11 | Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:48.253 | +7.344 | 5 |
| 12 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:48.513 | +7.604 | 4 |
| 13 | Ricciardo | Scuderia AlphaTauri | 1:48.650 | +7.741 | 4 |
| 14 | Guanyu | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | 1:48.822 | +7.913 | 5 |
| 15 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:48.947 | +8.038 | 3 |
| 16 | Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Pas de temps | 2 | |
| 17 | Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | Pas de temps | 2 | |
| 18 | Albon | Williams Racing | Pas de temps | 2 | |
| 19 | Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Pas de temps | 2 | |
| 20 | Sargeant | Williams Racing | Pas de temps | 0 |
