Charles Leclerc maintained top spot in extended FP2 session in F1 Las Vegas GP ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz with Fernando Alonso in third.
After FP1 ended early, the FP2 was delayed due to organisers completing work of filling up the drain covers to not face a similar trouble as the first session. It was 90 minute session to cover up for the lost time in the first hour and give teams more chance.
The FP2 eventually started two hours later than the scheduled time as the fans were forced out due to the late hours and organisers needing quick turnaround to open the roads for public. Once it got going, the session ran rather smoothly with no incidents as well.
There were yellow flag moments for few offs but nothing major as Ferrari were 1-2 where Leclerc led the way with a 1m35.265s lap from teammate Sainz, whose car was repaired on time. The Spaniard, though, will have to serve a 10-place grid penalty.
Ferrari requested the stewards to not impose a penalty for Energy Store replacement, but the stewards noted that they can’t look beyond the Sporting Regulations despite knowing that the incident was no fault of the team or the driver.
Aston Martin’s Alonso slotted in third from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez where his teammate Max Verstappen was only sixth behind Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was seventh from the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in eighth.
The Top 10 was rounded out by Lewis Hamilton and Williams’ Alexander Albon, with McLaren’s Lando Norris in 11th after cooling issues at the start of the session. Mercedes’ George Russell was 12th from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
The Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon slotted in 15th and 16th, where the latter’s car was also fixed up before FP2. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda ended up 17th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo and Williams’ Logan Sargeant.
The offs list – largely at Turn 14 – where some caused yellow flag and some didn’t, had the likes of Magnussen, Perez, Stroll, Verstappen (twice), Gasly, Russell and Sargeant.
Results: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1725484310264725899?s=20
Here’s what the FIA said for Carlos Sainz’s penalty: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2023%20Las%20Vegas%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Car%2055%20-%20Replacement%20Components.pdf
Here’s what happened in FP1 in F1 Las Vegas GP
