Leclerc tops Las Vegas GP FP2 as fans are kicked out
17th November 2023Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timing boards, ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso as the drivers drove for an extended 90-minute practice session.
After a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour delay, having to check the remaining manhole covers across the circuit which brought FP1 to an early end, the session finally got underway. Of which, the two McLarens were the first drivers out on track in the extended 90-minute session.
Within five minutes, all of the drivers were out on track including Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who had to change their chassis as a result of the damage caused by the loose manhole covers. Unfortunately, the number of parts changed means a grid penalty may be heading towards the Spaniard.
However, the circuit was reminiscent of a lockdown event amid the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the drivers drove out onto the circuit with no fans in the grandstands. This came as the venue had closed down the grandstands and fan-zones at 1:30 am local time.
After a 90-minute, private, session for F1, Ferrari topped the timing boards with Leclerc on top ahead of both Sainz and Alonso who finished in second and third respectively. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas completed the top five in fourth and fifth, eight-tenths behind.
Triple and defending world champion, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was the last driver to remain within a second of Leclerc’s best time with a lap time that was 0.918 seconds off the mark. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Alexander Albon, Williams, completed the top 10 in seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
Despite earlier problems with his car going into ‘Limp Home Mode,’ McLaren’s Lando Norris sat at the top of the bottom half of the field in P11. Mercedes’ George Russell and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen split the two McLarens in 12th and 13th, respectively, as Oscar Piastri occupied P15.
Ocon, with his new chassis, completed the extended session as the final driver to remain within two seconds of Leclerc’s time in P16 whilst Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) sat in 17th, 18th and 19th.
In his last home race of the season, Williams’ American driver Logan Sargeant completed the field down in P20, 2.875 seconds off the pace after 42 laps of the circuit, the most of any driver.
That’s all for the article; Leclerc tops Las Vegas GP FP2 as fans are kicked out!
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Carlos Sainz suffers 10-place grid penalty for Las Vegas GP
- Las Vegas GP: Leclerc on top of bitesize FP1 as a drain cover fails
- Red Bull reveal the ‘Neon Bull’ ahead of Las Vegas GP
- Lia Block will represent Williams Racing in F1 Academy in 2024
- Williams adorn Vegas-inspired livery ahead of Las Vegas GP
- Mercedes understands Sao Paulo mistakes as they head to Las Vegas
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
