Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025 Plunges Into Chaos as Lando Norris Tops Practice Despite Loose Manhole Cover Scare

The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix opened with high drama on Friday as championship leader Lando Norris set the fastest time in a practice session, overshadowed by a suspected loose manhole cover. The bizarre disruption revived unsettling memories of the 2023 race, where a similar incident wrecked Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and halted running deep into the night.

But even amid the track turmoil, Lando Norris delivered a commanding performance, reinforcing his status as the title favourite heading into the final three races of the season.

Norris Leads Tight Field as Championship Pressure Mounts

Lando Norris clocked a lap 0.029 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ rising star Kimi Antonelli, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third and 0.161 seconds off the pace. The McLaren driver, who leads teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points, said the team arrived in Las Vegas with far more confidence than last year.

“Always tricky here,” Norris said. “But we’ve already got a better feeling in the car. The pace is clearly there.”

Oscar Piastri, however, endured a compromised session, finishing 14th after missing a clean run on soft tyres due to the red flag stoppages. The Australian hasn’t beaten Lando Norris since August’s Dutch Grand Prix and admitted he had little opportunity to understand the car in P2, completing just two flying laps.

Manhole Cover Causes Déjà Vu Nightmare for Teams

The drama unfolded at Turn 17, where a marshal noticed potential movement in a manhole cover. The FIA initially resumed the session after a short inspection, but officials monitoring trackside soon observed the cover shifting under car pressure, which immediately triggered a second red flag.

Though later inspections reportedly showed the cover was tightly secured, the scare reignited the sport’s worst memories of Las Vegas’ inaugural race two years ago, when widespread infrastructure failures delayed practice until 4 a.m.

The FIA has yet to release a complete technical explanation.

 

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Unclear Competitive Picture as Running Cut Short

The interruptions robbed teams of valuable time, especially for long-run simulations. That left many top contenders—including Max Verstappen, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton—without representative laps.

Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg delivered a surprise P4, followed by the Racing Bulls pair of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton closed out the top 10.

Kimi Antonelli continued his strong form after last week’s second-place finish in Brazil, but George Russell warned against assuming Mercedes could repeat last year’s Vegas dominance, saying the car behaves differently since the major updates.

With so many drivers unable to complete proper race simulations, the competitive order remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: Lando Norris is primed to fight for pole on Saturday at 04:00 GMT — and potentially edge even closer to his first Formula One world title.