Norris roars back in Vegas as car trouble plagues Ferrari's Leclerc

The McLaren driver clocked a staggering time of 1:33.602 to clinch first place in the session ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.

The session, which was briefly greeted by rain showers ahead of its commencement, saw drivers wait a little longer in their garages before hitting the track.

However, on-track action soon lit up the Vegas night, with Mercedes driver George Russell setting the early marker with a 1:36.145. The Briton’s time was quickly eclipsed by Max Verstappen, who recorded a lap over a tenth quicker.

Lewis Hamilton, in the Scuderia Ferrari, was the first to dip into the 1:35s with a push lap of 1:35.338 on the mediums. The seven-time champion’s time was later bettered by McLaren’s Norris, who appeared to have put his FP1 struggles well behind him.

Russell brought the lap times further down into the 1:34s, clocking a 1:34.430, ahead of Norris.

The session featured brief yellow flags at intervals, with several drivers, including Oliver Bearman, Norris, and Isack Hadjar, all locking up and running wide at various moments.

Leclerc, who kicked off the soft-tyre stints, also locked up heading into Turn 9 on a fresh set of tyres.

The session was later interrupted by a red flag with over 20 minutes left on the clock. The FIA opted to halt running following a marshal’s report of a loose manhole cover at Turn 17 of the Nevada circuit.

After confirmation that the manhole cover had been secured, the session resumed with just over five minutes left on the clock, though not for Leclerc, who suffered a gearbox issue.

The Monegasque was forced to park behind the barriers, triggering another red flag with barely three minutes remaining.

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