F1: Lando Norris Sets Fastest Lap In Las Vegas GP Practice Despite Late Red Flags

F1: Lando Norris Sets Fastest Lap In Las Vegas GP Practice Despite Late Red Flags

Championship leader Lando Norris set the fastest time in Thursday's second practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a session disrupted by two red flags, including one for a loose manhole cover.

The Briton, who leads McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points in the driver standings, completed his hot lap just before chaos struck the Las Vegas Strip.

Norris clocked the fastest lap around the 6.201-km street circuit with a time of 1 minute 33.602 seconds, narrowly ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli by 0.029 seconds.

Shortly after, the session was halted to inspect a manhole cover. Cars returned to the track with six minutes remaining, allowing Charles Leclerc of Ferrari to end his session early due to a gearbox issue, before a final red flag concluded the action.

“We didn't manage to get too much from FP2 given the disruption, but we did get a slightly better feeling than in FP1," said Norris, who was sixth in opening practice.

“We made some good progress and we've got a reasonable feeling altogether. Some positives to build on and some areas to try and improve going into tomorrow."

Monaco's Leclerc finished third in a session where many drivers did not have a soft tyre run, including Piastri, who was 14th and 0.891 seconds behind title rival Norris.

Australian Piastri, who led the standings by 34 points after winning the Dutch Grand Prix in August, has not achieved a podium finish in the past five races.

Although Norris cannot secure the world championship crown this weekend, he could end the repeat bid of four-time defending champion Max Verstappen, who entered 49 points behind.

Verstappen was ninth in his Red Bull in the second session, 0.503 seconds off the pace.

Leclerc set the fastest time in first practice at 1:34.802, with Thailand's Alexander Albon second for Williams and Japan's Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull third.

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A lack of grip characterised the opening session on the Las Vegas strip as many cars skidded or struggled to brake in some corners, with Norris touching a wall but escaping damage.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Source: News18
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