Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 in Vegas second practice

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went fastest in a heavily delayed second practice session in Las Vegas, with a time of 1:35.265s, 0.517s clear of his teammate Carlos Sainz.

First practice had been curtailed after just 10 minutes due to a loose drain cover – bringing about significant delays to the second session as track officials sought to repair and reinforce all drain covers on the Vegas street circuit.

The session was originally delayed to 2 AM local time (10 AM BST), then 215 AM and finally 230 AM, but fans were regrettably escorted away from the grandstands and all fan zones, contributing to an extremely difficult first day for the Las Vegas GP event.

The ill-fated FP1 session means the drivers were able to sample the Vegas GP circuit for 90 minutes in what was an extended FP2 session.

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Multiple runners ran deep into the Turn 14 runoff areas at the end of the 6.2km circuit’s long back straight, as they got to grips with the layout and cool temperatures.

But as the clock wound down and the track gripped up, the times started to tumble, with Leclerc winning out overall.

F1 2023 Las Vegas GP — FP2 Results

Sainz sustained heavy damage to his car due to impact with the loose drain cover in FP1, but his team worked hard to rebuild his Ferrari in time for FP2 – sadly incurring a grid penalty for the GP as a result – and the Spaniard repaid his team’s incredible efforts to get him out in the session by completing a Ferrari 1-2.

Fernando Alonso had a strong session for Aston Martin, finishing third in the session and 0.528s back from leader Leclerc.

There was then an approximate three-tenth buffer between the top three and fourth-placed Sergio Perez in his Red Bull, with Valtteri Bottas completing the top five in an impressive showing for Alfa Romeo.

Bottas was the filling in a Red Bull sandwich, as Max Verstappen posted the sixth fastest time in his Red Bull, with Nico Hulkenberg seventh in his old-spec Haas.

Lance Stroll ensured both Aston’s were in the top-10 by posting the eighth quickest time, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in ninth.

Williams’ Alex Albon rounded out the top-10, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Merceds’ George Russell in 11th and 12th respectively.

Kevin Magnussen finished the session in 13th in the new spec Haas, ahead of Oscar Piastri in 14th place.

Next up were the two Alpines, led by Pierre Gasly, with Esteban Ocon taking part with a rebuilt chassis after his car also incurred damage to the floor in the FP1 incident.

Yuki Tsunoda put his AlphaTauri AT04 in 17th place, with Zhou Guanyu some way off of his Alfa Romeo teammate’s pace in 18th.

Daniel Ricciardo finished 19th in the second AlphaTauri and Logan Sargeant rounded out the order in the second Williams.

The Las Vegas GP continues with FP3 at 20:30 local time on Friday – 04:30 BST Saturday morning.