Las Vegas GP – FP2 results and summary: Ferrari suffers a tragic ending amid mysterious red flags. The action returns to the Las Vegas Strip for the second free practice session, following an opening FP1 dominated by Charles Leclerc, who had set the fastest time of the day with an impressive 1:34.802.
First 30 minutes
The first half hour of FP2 opens with a strong start from Kimi Antonelli, who clocks a 1:35.738 to take the early lead, followed closely by Max Verstappen and George Russell. Despite being considered one of the early favourites for the weekend, Mercedes appears to struggle in these initial moments.
Lewis Hamilton surprises everyone: using a flawless slipstream from Max Verstappen, he jumps to the top of the standings, but is immediately overtaken again by George Russell. It is the first clear sign of a battle for the leadership between the biggest names on the grid.
Seventeen minutes into the session, McLaren joins the fight. First Oscar Piastri moves into P1, then Lando Norris overtakes him, only for Russell to push both McLarens back down the order again. The Woking team seems to have addressed the rear-end load issues that had emerged in the first practice session.
Then comes Charles Leclerc’s answer. After a slow start, the Monegasque driver hits the target: he posts a lap that puts him on top with a margin of +0.180 over Lando Norris. But the British championship leader gets a scare: a lock-up on the front-left tyre sends him into the run-off area, fortunately without damage. Isack Hadjar makes the same mistake in the same spot shortly after, but he too manages to escape unscathed.
Final 30 minutes
The last thirty minutes begin with a real scare for Ferrari fans. Charles Leclerc, just out on a fresh set of soft tyres and still on his out-lap, comes dangerously close to hitting the wall. His Ferrari SF-25 snaps sideways at corner entry, heading straight towards the barriers, but the Monegasque manages to stop the car just a few centimetres before impact and continues without any visible damage.
Shortly after, Pierre Gasly triggers a brief yellow flag due to a small off-track moment, which luckily has no consequences. Lando Norris reports a few drops of rain over team radio in the final sector, making the situation even more complicated for everyone on track.
But suddenly an unexpected red flag is shown — surprising even the teams. Race control later informs that the issue is a manhole cover that has lifted at Turn 17, a problem that has already appeared in the past on the Las Vegas Strip circuit.
The session resumes, but only four minutes remain. Drivers rush out to grab as much data as possible before the chequered flag, but another twist hits Ferrari: Charles Leclerc slows down and reports a gearbox issue. He is forced to park his Ferrari SF-25 in a run-off area. Immediately afterwards, a second red flag is deployed: FP2 ends ahead of schedule.
FP2 times
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m33.602s
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.029s
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.161s
4 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) +0.277s
5 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +0.291s
6 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.299s
7 George Russell (Mercedes) +0.435s
8 Alex Albon (Williams) +0.465s
9 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.503s
10 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.525s
11 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.589s
12 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.771s
13 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.833s
14 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.891s
15 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1.090s
16 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1.222s
17 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1.384s
18 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.410s
19 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1.626s
20 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.897s
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