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Las Vegas Grand Prix: First practice cancelled after drain cover damages Carlos Sainz's car

Related Topics: Carlos Sainz Jr.

Formula 1 canceled the first practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix less than 20 minutes after it began.

The session was halted after Carlos Sainz sucked up a drain cover from the track surface that jostled his car so hard that it forced him to stop. The session was red-flagged after Sainz stopped on the track and the FIA said it would not be resumed as Sainz’s car was being transported back to the garage.

The FIA later released a statement explaining it was the concrete frame around the drain cover that failed and it would have to check all other covers on the track:

"Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed.