Amid the drivers' initial laps around the Las Vegas street circuit, the times quickly tumbled as the drivers became acquainted with the layout; Valtteri Bottas launched the first timed lap with a 1m50.227s, but the benchmark swiftly fell as several drivers lowered the bar - Charles Leclerc ending the first five minutes with a 1m44.019s.
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz then produced an unwelcome hiatus in the early reconnaissance laps, as his Ferrari crawled to a halt between the Bellagio and Paris hotels on the Strip having apparently been rendered immobile by a bump in the road.
TV cameras appeared to show heavy damage to the front part of Sainz's floor, with a drain cover understood to be the cause of the damage, with FIA stewards Garry Connolly and Derek Warwick checking the damage to Sainz's car.
FP1 will hence not be restarted to ensure fixes to the circuit.
More to follow.
Source: Autosport