Las Vegas Grand Prix practice halted twice due to loose maintenance cover

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A street maintenance cover has again disrupted on-track action at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where Thursday night practice was stopped twice so the track could be inspected.

The inaugural race in 2023 was upended just nine minutes into the first practice session when a loose cover damaged the underbody of Carlos Sainz Jr.'s car. It took more than two hours to fix the loose cover and inspect the entire circuit, which runs 3.85 miles (6.20 km) and utilizes parts of the iconic Las Vegas Strip.

The next practice didn't begin until after 2 a.m., lasted until 4 a.m. and all spectators had been sent home long before activity resumed.

There were no issues last year and Thursday's first practice was clean with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari leading the session. Trouble came with about 20 minutes left in the second session when a marshal reported a possible loose maintenance cover near Turn 17.

The FIA, the governing body for F1, red flagged the practice because race control could not find video footage to determine if there was a problem. The red flag allowed race control personnel to physically examine the site.

“Following inspection, we are confident everything is in suitable condition to resume the session,” the FIA said as cars were sent back with about six minutes remaining.

But inspectors stayed at the site when practice resumed and reported the cover was moving as cars passed over it. The red flag was again thrown, ending the session. The FIA said inspections will continue ahead of Friday night qualifying.

Lando Norris of McLaren, the current F1 points leader, was fastest in the second session.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing