The Las Vegas night didn’t wait long to throw drama at drivers, and you could almost feel the tension rising every time the track went quiet. The second practice session turned into a stop-start puzzle, yet one driver seemed oddly comfortable in the chaos. Lando Norris carried championship pressure with a steady hand and still put his name at the top of the times. With qualifying set for late Friday in Vegas, the pace he showed gave fans something to watch closely. Stick around because this session revealed far more than one fast lap.
Norris Sets The Early Marker
Norris led the session by 0.029 seconds over Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with Charles Leclerc 0.161 seconds behind. Those gaps underlined how tight the front of the field looked despite the disjointed running. The manhole related red flag cut laps short, so drivers struggled to build momentum on a surface that cooled quickly between stoppages.
Because the running stopped again after the restart, the soft tire window shrank. Piastri dropped to 14th and 0.891 seconds off his teammate solely because he never got a clean shot. His run broke apart the moment the track went red, leaving him without a proper reference lap. That disconnect added another wrinkle to the picture forming at the top.
The session mattered more for what Norris showed under pressure. He leads the standings by 24 points with three races left, leaving him close enough to touch the title if he strings together strong results. That small cushion grows heavier each weekend. Yet he sounded encouraged after practice, and noted a better feeling in the car than he had last year.
A Better Start Than Last Vegas
McLaren struggled around Vegas in 2023, but Norris said the improvement was noticeable from his very first lap. You could hear the growing confidence in how he framed the day. A cleaner session would have helped, yet his pace still showed up. The car responded more sharply through the tighter sections, giving him room to push without second-guessing the grip. That sharper rhythm hinted at a setup that finally fits the circuit instead of fighting it.
That confidence connected tightly to the narrow margins across the field. With many drivers unable to complete proper soft tire laps, the order felt more like a teaser than a conclusion. Still, seeing Norris near the front again added weight to the idea that McLaren arrived better prepared than last season.
Red Flags Create Flashbacks
The session stopped twice after a marshal spotted movement in a manhole cover at Turn 17. Officials inspected it, deemed it safe, and restarted the session. But monitors saw it shift again as cars passed, forcing another red flag. The reminder of last year’s damaged Ferrari hung in the air immediately.
Once the session ended, further checks showed the cover was actually bolted tight. That quiet twist added a bit of frustration, though the female-only F1 Academy qualifying session continued afterward without delay. The interruption still cut precious track time, leaving teams to guess how the circuit will behave once qualifying begins.
