First practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been cancelled after just over eight minutes of running due to a loose drain cover.
The race was initially red flagged with just over 50 minutes remaining on the clock after Carlos Sainz pulled to the side of the track.
It soon emerged that Sainz had hit some sort of bump, damaging the floor of his car, which turned his engine off.
It transpired that the bump was in fact a loose drain cover.
Replays showed Sainz violently going over it, even though he had lifted due to the yellow flags.
Fortunately, Sainz was uninjured by the impact.
Shortly after, the FIA announced that the session will not resume as it will take time to assess the issue as safety is paramount.
The FIA released a statement, stating: “We are currently looking at an issue with a drain cover, which is the reason for the current delay.”
Alpine were also affected by it with Esteban Ocon, with the French team forced to change his chassis due to the damage sustained.
In terms of lap times – albeit unrepresentative given the limited running – Charles Leclerc was 2.5s clear of Nico Hulkenberg at the top of the timesheets.
Keyword: First practice for Las Vegas Grand Prix cancelled after just eight minutes of running