Charles Leclerc topped an extended second practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix following the cancellation of FP1 after just eight minutes of running.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend met an inauspicious start when Carlos Sainz ran over a loose drain cover, causing extensive damage to his SF-23 and an early halt of the opening practice session.
FP2 was delayed by two-and-a-half hours, finally commencing at 2:30am local time, as repair work was carried out by the circuit’s engineering team in an effort to prevent a repeat.
Leclerc was fastest in the 90 minute session which took place in the absence of fans due to security staffing shortages. The Monegasque set the benchmark at 1:35.265s, half-a-second ahead of team-mate Sainz who faces a 10-place grid penalty after taking an extra energy store in the wake of his earlier incident.
Fernando Alonso found himself third for Aston Martin, ahead of Sergio Perez and the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen only managed sixth, followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon who completed the top ten.
After also picking up damage in FP1, Alpine rebuilt Esteban Ocon’s car around a spare chassis in time for FP2. The Frenchman was 16th fastest, a tenth slower than team-mate Pierre Gasly.
[motorsport_result id=’137372′]
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