Controversy after the initial training! In Las Vegas, the drivers drove only a few minutes, the responsibility clearly goes to the FIA

We have had our opening practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, or rather the first few minutes. FP1 was suspended after less than nine minutes and then even ended prematurely.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is arguably the highlight of this year’s F1 season in terms of the show on offer, as evidenced by the special livery of most of the teams and the spectacular opening ceremony.

However, many fans and experts are also very worried about the penultimate race of this season. This is mainly due to the new tyres from Pirelli, the rough asphalt or the excessively low temperatures that will make it difficult for the drivers to warm up their tyres to the optimum operating window.

But in the opening practice a completely different problem became apparent, namely the lack of circuit preparation. In fact, Carlos Sainz drove at high speed into the cover of a drain, whereupon the concrete frame subsequently broke, causing significant damage to the Spanish driver’s monocoque.

The first free practice session was therefore suspended after around eight minutes via red flags. FP1 was then prematurely terminated by race management, precisely because of the less than ideal racing conditions.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was understandably upset, announcing immediately after FP1 had finished that Sainz would not even take part in the second practice session due to extensive damage.

“We have a completely damaged monocoque, engine and battery. We will definitely not take part in FP2. I think this is totally unacceptable for today’s F1,” said an angry Vasseur.

Other teams have problems too, the responsibility goes to the FIA

During and after the opening practice, other teams reported damage to their monoblocs. For example, AlphaTauri and Alpine. It is the French team that has to replace the entire chassis of Esteban Ocon’s car, Sainz literally has a hole in his car.

The responsibility at the moment is clearly with the FIA. The FIA has a lot of experience in circuit racing and one of its main responsibilities is to ensure that the track is thoroughly inspected and safe.

For Ferrari in particular, this has caused a number of problems at the moment. But so have the other teams, as they will only have two more practice sessions. That’s always a problem with new circuits if something like this happens.

Because it means less data collected, so there’s a risk of incorrect set-up, more money spent on repairs, drivers will have less time to really get used to the track. And of course there are other negatives associated with that in terms of performance.

So the first practice session was won by Charles Leclerc, with both Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg finishing second and third.

FP2 is scheduled for 09:00, but the FIA staff must go through the entire circuit and thoroughly check its fitness. It is therefore possible that F1 will postpone the start of FP2.

Source: F1 TV, Twitter / X