Reigning F1 champ still unhappy after 1st drive on Las Vegas course

Max Verstappen hasn’t been shy about his reservations surrounding the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.

He’s not interested in the spectacle. He just wants to drive.

So did the reigning three-time Formula One champion at least enjoy finally getting on the track Thursday night at the Las Vegas Street Circuit?

“No,” the 26-year-old Dutch driver said. “I’ve had better tracks in my life. I already said that yesterday. There was nothing new I discovered or whatever.

“We just get on with it.”

The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix runs at 10 p.m. Saturday on the Las Vegas Street Circuit on the Strip.

Verstappen had the sixth-fastest lap time during the extended second practice — free practice two (FP2), in Formula One parlance — early Friday. He was almost a full second off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who led all drivers with a time of 1:35.265.

Verstappen wasn’t worried after the session. He said it was important that his team, Red Bull, completed its entire practice program, especially after a loose manhole cover caused free practice one to be canceled after just eight minutes of track time.

“We did not really run a lot in FP1, so it took a little time to rubber in a little bit more,” Verstappen said.

The loose manhole cover ripped through Carlos Sainz Jr.’s Ferrari to end the first practice session.

“It’s just unacceptable,” team principal Fred Vasseur said.

Ferrari replaced Sainz’s monocoque, battery and power unit in time for FP2 — which started at 2:30 a.m. Friday after a 2½-hour delay — after Vasseur initially stated he was not going to participate.

However, the Spanish driver was handed a 10-spot grid penalty for qualifying after taking on his third new energy store of the season. Qualifying was scheduled to finish early Saturday.

Sainz had the second-fastest lap time in FP2, 0.517 seconds off his teammate Leclerc, who also led the truncated FP1.

The Ferraris had a strong practice because of their pace through low-speed corners. During FP2, Leclerc had the fastest time (31.2 seconds) in the second sector, which stretches from just before turn six until just after turn 12.

While Leclerc had lots of success in the second sector, turn 12, in particular, seems to be one of the trickiest corners on the track. The slow left-hander brings the cars from Sands Avenue onto Las Vegas Boulevard near Treasure Island.

Six drivers — Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Williams rookie Logan Sargeant — spun off at turn 12 during FP2.

Verstappen said the circuit was slippery early on, but got better as the cars put down more rubber on the road, and added that track evolution will be important.

Turn 14, from Las Vegas Boulevard onto East Harmon Avenue, and turn 5, from Koval Lane onto Westchester Drive near the Sphere, also gave drivers trouble.

Besides Ferrari’s strong performance, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also seemed like he might be able to build on his podium finish at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 5. The two-time F1 champion had the fastest first and third sectors and the third-quickest lap time overall, just 0.011 seconds off his fellow Spaniard Sainz.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was perhaps the biggest surprise of FP2. The Finnish 10-time race winner had the fifth-fastest lap time, placing ahead of Verstappen. He joked he drank lots of coffee during the nearly five-hour gap between practice sessions to stay engaged.

Bottas was also candid about Sainz’s incident. He was surprised to see a loose manhole cover disrupt the race considering it has happened at other events, and said he hoped F1 had learned from those past mistakes.

“Another day for learning for the future,” he said. “I hope it’s now solved, and we need to make sure the track remains in safe condition.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.