Norris tops session disrupted by loose manhole cover

Championship leader Lando Norris was fastest in a second practice session at the Las Vegas Grand Prix interrupted and then curtailed by a loose manhole cover.

The McLaren driver was 0.029 seconds ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third, 0.161secs off the pace.

But the interruptions to the session meant a number of top drivers did not get runs on the soft tyre during the session, including Norris' team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

The manhole cover will likely mean a long night for race officials.

The problem emerged at Turn 17, the final corner, about 20 minutes before the end of the session.

The site was inspected and the session restarted after a 15-minute delay but officials who had stayed at the location to monitor the situation saw the cover moving as cars passed over it when the session resumed and the red flag was thrown again.

Shortly before the second red flag, Leclerc's Ferrari stopped on track with what appeared to be a gearbox problem.

The delays and disruption meant a sense of the competitive picture was only partially formed, especially as there was no time for the race simulations runs that normally take place in the final minutes of the session.

For what it's worth, Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg was fourth fastest, ahead of the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

Mercedes' George Russell was seventh fastest, with Williams' Alex Albon, Verstappen and Hamilton completing the top 10.

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