Why Is the First Free Practice Session of Las Vegas GP Cancelled? – Silly Defect Starts Glamorous Weekend on Sour Note

Things seem to have gone from bad to worse for the F1 authorities in the Las Vegas GP mere minutes into FP1 at the latest street circuit. According to various reports, a loose drain cover caused the session to come to a complete halt after killing the engine of Carlos Sainz and also potentially causing some damage to the floor of the car of Zhou Guanyu. Esteban Ocon also suffered an accident at the same spot as Sainz, rendering his car’s chassis broken.

Ocon‘s Alpine has taken so much damage that the team will have to change the entire chassis of the car before the next practice session. Meanwhile, Sainz‘s Ferrari bottomed out at the same spot, killing his engined immediately. With F1 cars running so low to the ground, their aerodynamics and speed can turn a loose manhole cover into an extremely hazardous projectile, which is why the authorities and stewards saw it best to cancel the event.

 

The FIA has made it a rule to inspect the tracks at least one day before the cars go out on the track. If everything is okay, the tracks get the pass for racing. However, the Vegas track was still in use by the local traffic until late last night, which meant the inspection could not take place yesterday. Having done the same early in the morning, the authorities deemed the track fit for use and passed it.

However, it seems they did not do the checks rigorously. The FP1 was each team’s first chance to get some real-world data, and it gave the drivers time to go out and get a feel for the track and understand how their car was behaving on the newly laid track. The teams will now have to churn out extra data from the FP2.

Will FP2 be canceled at the Las Vegas GP too?

With the prospect of a hazardous cast iron and concrete 113kg saucer flying around on the track, there are talks about FP2 facing the can as well. However, the issues should not take long to fix, and the fans and drivers should expect FP2 to go as planned. Per an official statement from the FIA, the concrete frame around the manhole covers failed to do its job. The authorities are checking all the frames, and will take some time to resolve the issue.

However, there might be another issue that could trouble the drivers throughout the next session. As was the consensus before the race, the low ambient and track temperatures would make it tough for the drivers to find much grip on the tracks. In the short FP1, the lack of grip was on display right away, with drivers complaining about the grip. Pierre Gasly told his race engineer, “Grip is extremely low” on the radio, while George Russell complained, “Grip is very low currently.” Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was also seen shaking his head in dismay after slipping on The Strip due to a lack of grip.