If you ever needed a reminder that Formula 1 is as much about chaos as it is about control, the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 2 delivered it with the subtlety of a slot machine jackpot at 3 a.m. Under the garish glow of the Strip, the sport’s best-laid plans were upended by a session that had everything: a McLaren resurgence, a Mercedes prodigy, a Ferrari heartbreak, and—because this is Vegas—drain covers that threatened to steal the show.
- The House Never Loses: Norris Tops a Disrupted Session
- Table: 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix FP2 Results
- The Prodigy Arrives: Antonelli’s Coming-Out Party
- Ferrari’s Familiar Heartbreak
- The Usual Suspects, Unusually Quiet
- The Rise of the Underdogs
- Red Flags and Drain Covers: A Vegas Tradition
- Historical Parallels: When Practice Means Nothing
- Quotes from the Paddock
- The Numbers Behind the Neon
- Waste a Bit More Time
Let’s roll the dice and recount a night where the only certainty was surprise.
The House Never Loses: Norris Tops a Disrupted Session
The story of FP2 was written in fits and starts, punctuated by red flags and the kind of tension that only a street circuit can provide. Lando Norris, the championship leader with a 24-point cushion over Oscar Piastri, was not supposed to shine here. McLaren’s 2025 car, by all accounts, was allergic to the low-grip, low-temperature conditions of Las Vegas. Yet, as the session wound down, it was Norris who emerged on top, clocking a 1:33.602—proof that, in F1 as in Vegas, the odds mean little when the cards fall your way.
The session was twice halted by red flags, both times for that most modern of F1 gremlins: the loose manhole cover. The first stoppage came with 20 minutes to go, as marshals reported a suspiciously mobile drain cover at Turn 17. The FIA, perhaps recalling the infamous 2023 debacle that saw Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari gutted by a similar issue, wasted no time in halting proceedings. After a brief inspection and a green light, the session resumed—only for Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari to grind to a halt with a gearbox failure, and for the manhole cover to once again play the villain. The session ended under red, leaving teams with more questions than answers.
“The session has been red flagged as a precautionary measure and Race Control personnel are currently on site assessing the situation.”
FIA Spokesperson (Crash.net)
Table: 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix FP2 Results
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:33.602 | — |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.029 | |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.161 | |
| 4 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | +0.277 | |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.291 | |
| 6 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.299 | |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.435 | |
| 8 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.465 | |
| 9 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.503 | |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.525 | |
| … | … | … | … | … |
The Prodigy Arrives: Antonelli’s Coming-Out Party
If you’re not yet familiar with Kimi Antonelli, you will be soon. The 19-year-old Mercedes rookie, already the subject of feverish paddock whispers, delivered a lap just 0.029 seconds shy of Norris. In a session where experience was supposed to count for everything, Antonelli’s poise was a revelation. Mercedes, still searching for a post-Hamilton identity, may have found their next talisman.
Antonelli’s performance is all the more remarkable given the historical context. Since Las Vegas returned to the calendar in 2023, the circuit has been a graveyard for rookies and a playground for the seasoned. Oscar Piastri’s 2023 FP2 heroics were considered an outlier; Antonelli’s run suggests a changing of the guard.
“Kimi Antonelli impressed again, finishing just 0.029s behind the McLaren.”
Total Motorsport (source)
Ferrari’s Familiar Heartbreak
For Charles Leclerc, Las Vegas is starting to feel like a cruel joke. He topped FP1, looked set for a strong FP2, and then—just as the session resumed after the first red flag—his Ferrari ground to a halt with a gearbox issue. The Monégasque’s relationship with this circuit is beginning to resemble Jean Alesi’s with reliability: full of promise, short on reward.
Leclerc’s misfortune is not without precedent. In 2023, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the victim of a drain cover that ended his session and, arguably, his weekend. The ghosts of Vegas past seem determined to haunt the Scuderia.
“Charles Leclerc suffers painful Ferrari failure.”
RacingNews365 (source)
The Usual Suspects, Unusually Quiet
Max Verstappen, the man who has made a habit of bending the sport to his will, was a muted presence in FP2. Ninth fastest, half a second off Norris, and never truly in the hunt. Red Bull’s struggles in Las Vegas are becoming a statistical anomaly: since the race’s return, they have consistently failed to dominate FP2, even as they sweep all before them elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton—now in Ferrari red—was tenth, his session notable more for brushes with the wall than for outright pace. The seven-time champion’s Vegas outings have been a study in frustration, a reminder that even the greats can be humbled by a circuit that refuses to play by the rules.
The Rise of the Underdogs
If there was a theme to FP2, it was the emergence of the unexpected. Nico Hulkenberg, a man whose F1 career has been defined by near-misses and what-ifs, delivered a stunning fourth for Sauber. Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls teammates and relative newcomers, were fifth and sixth—proof that, in Vegas, the form book is best used as a coaster.
Williams, too, continued their renaissance. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz (yes, you read that right—Sainz now in Williams blue) both featured in the top ten across the day, a far cry from the team’s wilderness years. The midfield, once a graveyard of ambition, is suddenly alive with possibility.
Red Flags and Drain Covers: A Vegas Tradition
It wouldn’t be a Las Vegas Grand Prix without a bit of farce. The session’s two red flags, both caused by a loose manhole cover, were a grim echo of 2023’s infamous stoppage. That year, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was destroyed by a dislodged cover, prompting a paddock-wide inquest and a flurry of late-night welding. Two years on, the problem persists—a reminder that, for all F1’s technological might, it is still at the mercy of the most mundane of failures.
“It is not the first time that F1 has had drain cover trouble in Las Vegas. The inaugural event in 2023 was dogged by problems which led to opening practice being cut short.”
Crash.net (source)
Historical Parallels: When Practice Means Nothing
Las Vegas has quickly established itself as a statistical outlier. Since its return, FP2 has been a poor predictor of qualifying and race results. In 2023, Oscar Piastri topped FP2 but started well down the grid. In 2024, Lando Norris was fastest in FP2, but George Russell took pole and Verstappen won the race. The disconnect between Friday night pace and Sunday glory is a Vegas specialty—one that keeps teams guessing and fans on edge.
| Year | FP2 Fastest Driver | Team (Engine) | Pole Sitter | Race Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Lando Norris | McLaren (Mercedes) | George Russell | Max Verstappen |
| 2023 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren (Mercedes) | Charles Leclerc | Max Verstappen |
Quotes from the Paddock
“It’s hard not to do a better job than what I was doing at the beginning of the season. I certainly struggled at the beginning of the year, and we’ve changed some little things on the car that we think – not all of them are even guarantees.”
Lando Norris (GPBlog)
“Following a marshal report of a possible loose manhole cover before Turn 17, Race Control were unable to confirm this information from the CCTV available. The session has been red flagged as a precautionary measure and Race Control personnel are currently on site assessing the situation.”
FIA Spokesperson (Crash.net)
The Numbers Behind the Neon
Statistically, Las Vegas is a riddle. McLaren, a team that has struggled for consistency elsewhere, has repeatedly found pace in FP2 here. Mercedes engines, so often second-best to Red Bull and Ferrari, have topped the timesheets in practice. Rookies and underdogs have flourished, while champions have floundered. The only constant is unpredictability.
For the historians among us, it’s a reminder of the sport’s cyclical nature. In the 1980s, Las Vegas was a curiosity—a car park masquerading as a circuit. Today, it is a neon-lit crucible, exposing weaknesses and amplifying strengths in equal measure.
Waste a Bit More Time
If you’re still hungry for more Vegas drama (and who isn’t?), here are some links to keep you entertained:
- 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – FP1 & FP2 – As it happened (Crash.net)
- Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 practice results 2025 (The Race)
- F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025: Free Practice 2 Results As manhole scare causes delay (Yardbarker)
- F1 LIVE | Follow FP2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix here! (GPBlog)
- 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP Free Practice 2 LIVE: Latest Updates (Total Motorsport)
- More Las Vegas drain cover drama? FIA explain two red flags (Crash.net)
- Norris roars back in Vegas as car trouble plagues Ferrari’s Leclerc (GPBlog)
- Mysterious red flag halts FP2 in Las Vegas: Norris leads (GPBlog)
And for those who prefer their drama in moving pictures, here’s a relevant YouTube link:
Watch the latest F1 Paddock Update on GPBlog’s YouTube channel
