The FIA may be forced to cancel practice for the entire day due to a manhole cover wreaking havoc at the start of the much-hyped Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.
After all the hullabaloo in the build-up to the event, the first session lasted just eight minutes after Carlos Sainz drove over a manhole cover, causing “quite extensive” damage to the Spaniard’s Ferrari according to the team.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur described it as “unacceptable”.
Alpine also reported damage to Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, adding that it would need to change the chassis.
It was a hugely embarrassing moment for F1 given the fanfare ahead of promoting a race for the first time in the sport’s history, and the near half-a-billion US dollars spent on the infrastructure and track preparation.
The FIA confirmed that the cause of the incidents was a failure of a concrete frame around a manhole cover situated on the iconic Strip, where Sainz was forced to stop his SF23.
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Motorsport’s governing body added that it would need to check all the remaining drains around the 6.201-kilometre circuit which would “take some time” and that discussions with the local engineering team were required.
Former F1 driver and respected Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle felt FP2 would also be cancelled due to the nature of the damage to the manhole cover and the time required to carry out the repair.
“That’s it for today from my experience,” said Brundle. “Fixing that and checking everything else, letting it (the concrete) dry and making sure it won’t come out again is a big job.
“Theoretically, they are going to open the Strip after the F1 sessions. That’s a very, very big issue if there are other areas like that around the track.
“It’s that moment at top speed where the cars run at their lowest and it compresses the aerodynamics, so that’s going to show up first and they will have to check everything else.
“We had it in sportscar racing. I remember in Montreal, it went through the floor and the fuel tank and blew the things to bits.”
Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 champion, suffered a similar experience in the 2016 Monaco GP, although it was the metal drain itself that caused a problem.
On that occasion, Nico Rosberg, then with Mercedes, dislodged the manhole cover, flicking it back into the path of Button who sustained severe damage to his McLaren.
“It’s one of the worst things to hit,” said Button. “These safety cells on the car have improved the safety, the circuits are safer and things like that happen.
“It didn’t just suck it up, it was slightly elevated. The yellow flag was probably because they saw it. I think it was lifted before and it’s sat on the track.
“Ocon wasn’t on that part of the circuit when going down the straight but it was the same zone.
“Sainz was really lucky that he lifted because it would have taken off a bit of straight-line speed, then he got back on the throttle, so he was probably going 30kph slower.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner made clear that despite the frustration of the fans in the grandstands, who have spent thousands of dollars on tickets, it was incumbent on the sport to resolve the matter on safety grounds.
“They are going to have to check all the manhole covers, weld them, or do something because you can see the damage it’s done,” said Horner.
“They have got to be flexible. It’s a great shame for the fans but safety comes first. We have to get this right and, hopefully, it won’t take too long.”
A joint statement from F1 and Las Vegas Grand Prix Inc moved to clarify the situation: “After inspection by Formula 1 and the FIA, a single water valve cover on the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit failed during the first practice session.
“The FIA, F1 and local circuit engineering teams are actively working to review and address the issue.
“We will provide an update on the race schedule as soon as possible.
“During this review period, all tickets, food and beverage and entertainment options will continue to be honoured, and we remain focused on providing our patrons with a great experience.
“We appreciate the collaboration of the relevant event operations staff to ensure a safe and orderly egress of patrons if they choose to leave.”
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