Image: Pitpass.com X@pitpassdotcom
By Benjamin Foster | Staff Writer with Agencies
Lando Norris confirmed McLaren’s strong pace and once again topped the timesheets in Las Vegas. The British driver clocked a 1:33.602 to finish the second free practice session, held in the early hours of Friday, in first place. The sixty-minute session was interrupted after a manhole cover came loose at turn seventeen, a problem reminiscent of the incident that halted running during the inaugural twenty-three weekend.
With a little more than fifteen minutes completed, George Russell held the lead, although Lewis Hamilton soon improved and took the top spot. Moments later, Norris posted a 1:33.943 on medium tyres. Gabriel Bortoleto continued to face difficulties and sat in nineteenth place, ahead only of his Sauber teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
Max Verstappen improved his time and climbed to second, placing himself ahead of Hamilton. Alexander Albon occupied fourth place until Pierre Gasly eclipsed him shortly afterward. Charles Leclerc then moved into the lead with a 1:33.763, holding a margin of 0.180 over Norris. The Ferrari driver would soon face another scare, locking up and running wide.
Liam Lawson became the first to set a fast lap on soft tyres. The Racing Bulls driver jumped to second and ended up only 0.138 behind Leclerc. Later, Leclerc attempted another push lap on softs but spun at the exit of the Sphere at turn nine. He lost the front end of the SF twenty-five and came close to hitting the wall.
Kimi Antonelli briefly claimed the top spot in the final phase of the session. Norris responded immediately, producing the best three sectors of the day to secure the leading time of 1:33.602. Hulkenberg also improved on soft tyres and climbed to fourth. Bortoleto remained twentieth on hard tyres.
The session was red-flagged for around ten minutes due to the loose manhole cover. After the restart, race control members who stayed at the scene reported that the cover was still shifting under the cars, which led to the final termination of the session under red flag conditions.
Final results, Las Vegas FP2
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Lando Norris, 1:33.602
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Kimi Antonelli, 1:33.631
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Charles Leclerc, 1:33.763
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Nico Hulkenberg, 1:33.879
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Isack Hadjar, 1:33.893
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Liam Lawson, 1:33.901
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George Russell, 1:34.037
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Alexander Albon, 1:34.067
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Max Verstappen, 1:34.105
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Lewis Hamilton, 1:34.127
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Lance Stroll, 1:34.191
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Pierre Gasly, 1:34.373
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Carlos Sainz, 1:34.435
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Oscar Piastri, 1:34.493
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Yuki Tsunoda, 1:34.692
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Franco Colapinto, 1:34.824
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Oliver Bearman, 1:34.986
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Fernando Alonso, 1:35.012
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Esteban Ocon, 1:35.228
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Gabriel Bortoleto, 1:35.499
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