The FIA carried out overnight work on a number of manhole assemblies at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to provide additional protection following delays at the end of FP2.
On Thursday night, during the final quarter of the second practice session, marshals reported a loose manhole cover near Turn 17, causing a red flag to fly. The session resumed after being inspected by race control, but was stopped again as staff remained in the area and felt the cover was continuing to move.
Throughout the night, the FIA inspected the manhole cover that had caused the concern and was able to implement a fix for the defect, but it also took precautions for another 14 manholes that could be subject to vehicle forces at regular intervals at race speeds.
“The manhole that caused the red flag in FP2 has been disassembled and further inspected,” the FIA said in a statement. “We found a specific flaw in the closure mechanism and the issue was resolved overnight.
“In addition to the work carried out to address the identified issues, this manhole cover has been welded on to provide further relief.
“All other manhole covers on or near the racing line were re-inspected overnight and additional welds were applied to an additional 14 manhole assemblies.”
This is the second time in three races that Las Vegas has had problems securing the various covers on the track, with a culvert cover pulled up by a car passing over it during FP1 in 2023, leading to significant delays.
On that occasion, Carlos Sainz’s car suffered significant damage after coming into contact with loose cover, but Thursday’s delay was of a much more proactive nature as race control identified a potential problem before the incident involving the car occurred.
