After 10 minutes of racing at the Las Vegas circuit, it was already over: Formula 1 announced that the first free practice session was cancelled following an incident involving Carlos Sainz.
Of course, it was no surprise: the drivers who took to the track in the early stages of practice complained about the almost total lack of grip. At 16.6 degrees Celsius, it was also exceptionally cool - by F1 standards - and it will only cool further during the evening.
With a brand new track, the drivers naturally wanted to drive as many laps as possible in order to collect the necessary data. That was not possible for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz went over a bump in the middle of the track, and the impact was so hard that it probably broke the floor of his car. Undoubtedly, Sainz's back also took a big hit.
Manhole cover came loose
The FIA immediately decided to raise a red flag, also because Sainz had parked his car in an awkward spot. Barely a few minutes later, the FIA decided to cancel the entire session. The stewards wanted to go to the circuit to see for themselves what was going on with the track. It soon became apparent that a manhole cover had come loose and had to be reattached.
Alpine also subsequently reported that there was damage to one of their cars. The French announced that Esteban Ocon's chassis needs to be replaced.
Well here ya go... "Detailing what had gone wrong in FP1, an FIA spokesman said the issue revolved around the concrete casing surrounding the cover. “Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed,” he said. “We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time. “We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.”
That's today's running done now I reckon. See you for FP3..er.. 1..or would it be 2?
Manhole, manhole, manhole! How un-woke of Sky. Don't they know the proper, gender neutral term is MAINTENANCE hole now?
True, some of the shots of the Vegas landmarks (gaudy as they are) are quite stunning. Much more so than any other track, with maybe the exception of Monaco.
The racing was never the focus for Liberty....they probably are enjoying the extra press.
Just replying to your other post that was remove for some strange reason... Yeah there was mention of Ocon. Dunno if he ran over the drain first with pulled out of of the ground a little, then Sainz ran over it and pulled it out all the way. Now they're going to have to check all of the manhole covers. So that's today's running done I reckon.
Depends on the way they secured them. If it is just welded down,you could get a lot of those done in not much time.
My fave track, Silverstone. That along with Spa and Suzuka. Just keep rotating those three:) Maggots and Becketts in an F1 or GT3 car is just the best.
Lots of undulation on tracks work for me....I am not a fan of the flat tracks,although Silverstone has some seriously good corners.
Brands is decent. I often take turn 1 too fast and run wide in the sim :) Haha. It's a hard habit to break. I just ended up finding a different line. Dingle-Dell corner (yeah I know haha) is almost a blind right-hander too so your turn-in point there has to be on the money or you'll either be too slow or too wide.
Ad Brands Hatch and we have the start of a great callender....
Laguna Seca too yes! I love racing on that track. Can I add Watkins Glenn? Turn 2 and 3 would be cool in F1, flat out for sure.
We're similar in some ways then. I have every race weekend on VHS/DVD-R/Digital media since 1994. :) Yeah my cupboard is FULL with VHS tapes of every single one up until DVD recorders were a thing. Now it's all digital. I stopped bothering recording the practice sessions only a few years ago. But I can re watch every race back to the start of 1994. It's a sickness of the nerdiest kind, haha! F1 has changed a lot and some of it isn't for the better. I agree they tyre nursing and fuel saving takes the purity out of the racing. It's like we're throwing a bit of chess into the mix. Strategy is ok and all that but I want to see racers gunning for it on every lap, not saving tyres and fuel. I used to watch touring car back in the day, also MotoGP (back when Doohan was the man, then Rossi) and Indycar (which became CART). Touring cars were so, so exciting! I should get back to watching that for sure. I would love to see F1 at Bathurst too but I don't think it would be viable for F1 :) Yeah suspension geometry can affect tyre wear big time. Put the wrong about of camber or toe and you're gonna have tyre issues, both wear and temps. The intricacies of setting up a car is fascinating, and as you say, a quarter turn of the front wing, coupled with the downforce will make a noticeable difference to the driver.
I used to watch every session,every minute,would be early in front of the TV. Recorded all races.....on VHS and rewatch many of them in the off season. But,not only sont I agree with the "show" F1 has turned into....I just don't like a lot of itm I still like the cars,even though I don't agree with how heavy and big they are,I don't like the fact that they have to manage tires and fuel. I'd like refuelling back,no DRS (quality over quantity).Proper tracked,end to track limits issues and drivers that complain less....a lot less. I'd go on all day,about things they can improve on. But in short,F1 has sold it's soul and what remains is a empty shell of what it was. Starting to really enjoy WEC,but will likely watch F1 untill I die,but mainly for the cars,as I can spend hours in tech forums reading how a little turn of front wing can make a difference over the rest of the car or how certain suspension geometries are better with tire wear
"Complete farce,shouldn't surprise anyone." Yeah you're right. We shouldn't be surprised at all. Cheap or useless concrete maybe I dunno. Or maybe they just didn't weld the cover(s) down properly. "I never meant to watch FP1,but was awake earlier than expected so tuned in." I always try and tune in to all sessions. I'll miss practice 1 or 2 if I really must, but only if it's early morning. I don't blame you for not sticking around for FP2. This is shambolic.
Complete farce,shouldn't surprise anyone. If it is the concrete,it is a much bigger issue.Cincrete cures slower the cooler the temperature. I never meant to watch FP1,but was awake earlier than expected so tuned in. Not hanging around to watch FP2.
I heard there was an issue with the surrounding concrete. Don't hold me to that, but something was said about it. I hope you're right though. I'm going to have another tea and I'll wait and see if the FIA call FP2 off. Considering everything, they'll wait for the last minute and then some. Another weekend where there won't be enough practice running. What a farce this is.
Yikes. Well that was a surprise stoppage but absolutely the right move. Hope it will be sorted for FP2 but they're gonna have to fix the road or something. The damage to the Ferrari is significant and it's ripped the floor off at the front and it now has chassis damage. $500million dollars and it all ends on a drain.
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