The FIA carried out overnight work on a number of manhole structures during the Las Vegas Grand Prix to provide extra protection following delays at the end of FP2.
Red flags flew during the final quarter of the second practice session on Thursday evening when a marshal reported a loose manhole cover at Turn 17. After inspection by race control, the session resumed but was subsequently halted again as staff remained in the area and felt the cover continued to move.
Overnight the FIA inspected the manhole cover that caused concern and managed to correct a defect, but also took preventive action with a further 14 manhole covers that could be subject to the forces of cars at racing speed at regular intervals.
“The manhole that triggered the red flag in FP2 was dismantled and further inspected,” an FIA statement said. “A specific fault was found in the closing mechanism, and it was possible to solve this problem overnight.
“In addition to the work carried out to address the identified issue, the cover of this manhole has been welded to provide further mitigation.
“All other manhole covers on or near the racing line were re-inspected overnight and additional welding was applied to a further 14 manhole structures.”
It is the second time in three races that Las Vegas has experienced problems securing various covers on the track, with a drain cover being pulled up by cars driving over it during the first free practice session of 2023, leading to serious delays.
On that occasion, Carlos Sainz’s car was badly damaged after hitting the loose cover, but Thursday’s delay was of a much more proactive nature as race control identified a potential problem ahead of an incident involving a car.
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