What we learned from Friday F1 practice at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix

It was a torrid start for Formula 1's return to Sin City as Thursday night's practice rolled into Friday morning. FP1 had to be abandoned after just eight minutes, while FP2 was severely delayed as safety checks were carried out around the street circuit. To add insult to injury, fans were told to leave the grandstands. Beyond that PR horror show, here's what we learned from Friday practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula 1’s return to Las Vegas got off to a shockingly bad start with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz striking a loose water valve cover in FP1 and that session having to be abandoned after just eight minutes of running. What followed was a communications and optics horror show from both the race organiser, which is F1 itself, and FIA regulator.

But by the end of a very long working day in Sin City – taking in two, with track action having started at 8.30pm on Thursday night and ended at 4am on Friday morning – an extended practice session had taken place. But in front of no fans.

Things did look better for Ferrari come the action’s end – even if it was still livid about Sainz’s car being smashed, along with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, in the FP1 shambles. The Scuderia led the way on pure pace with its slippery SF-23 on this straight-heavy new course in FP2, but it looks to be very close so far with Red Bull on the long runs that eventually concluded the elongated session.

That and much more is included in this presentation of everything we learned in the first practice sessions for F1’s return to Vegas after a 41-year absence.

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Source: Autosport