Las Vegas F1 STOPPED again by DANGEROUS manhole cover!

Midway through final practice a manhole cover lifted on the Las Vegas street circuit and forced race control to red flag the session not once but twice. With cars carrying around 250 km/h through that section, the potential for serious damage or a major incident was real. What followed was a rapid on-track response, some old-school welding, and a reminder that running a high-speed race on public roads brings risks that are easy to underestimate.

What happened at turn 17

About 45 minutes into the session a marshal noticed the cover was lifting when cars passed over it and immediately told race control. Officials tightened bolts with a wrench and let the session resume, but the problem returned. Photographs show the cover lifting only when a car’s wheels passed on either side of it at speed; if a single wheel crossed it, the uplift wasn’t evident.

The distinction matters. At speed, a passing car creates enormous local pressure changes and aerodynamic suction. Even a small upward movement of a heavy cast cover can become catastrophic when struck by an F1 car at 250 to 300 km/h. In 2023 a smaller drain cover on the Strip wrecked Carlos Sainz’s practice car. A manhole of this size could have caused far worse damage or a serious accident.

How the repair team fixed it

Stopping the session twice was the correct decision. Safety must outweigh track time. After the second red flag, crews used a propane torch to preheat the metal around the edge of the manhole cover, then applied a stick welder to tack it down in two spots. Skilled hammering and grinding finished the job.

Preheating is critical. Welding directly onto cold metal can introduce thermal shock and cracking, which would have created a worse long-term defect. The team’s method—heat, weld, then mechanically trim and smooth—was the right procedure for a hurried but durable fix.

Why this is a difficult problem to prevent

Public street circuits present a unique challenge because the infrastructure was never designed for repeated high-speed racing loads. Typical manhole inspections for roads do not simulate the rapid dynamic loads and transient aerodynamic forces generated by F1 cars. You can tighten bolts, but unless the cover and its seating are engineered to handle alternating uplift forces and suction, the risk remains.

Testing every cover to the standard of a race car passing at 300 km/h is impractical. But teams of track engineers and municipal crews can take steps:

• Full seating checks for all covers within kerb-to-kerb racing lines
• Welds or additional mechanical locking where permissible and safe
• Non-invasive load testing that simulates lateral and vertical forces
• Pre-race run-throughs at race speeds with inspection after opening practice sessions

Expect track crews to be out late into the night inspecting the rest of the covers. The real proof, unfortunately, is what happens when a car runs over them at race speed.

Weather, lightning rules, and race-day implications

Weather has become a big talking point at this event. Flash flooding earlier in the week routed through designed floodways and cleared quickly, but media day experienced light rain, hail, and lightning. In this state there is a strict four-mile lightning exclusion; if lightning strikes within that radius personnel must go undercover, and the same restriction likely affects spectators. Events can be delayed for 30 minutes or more, with the clock resetting if another strike occurs during the wait.

Rain on a street circuit raises questions about drainage and aquaplaning. The track’s drainage system has not been tested extensively in a wet race scenario, and slick surface paint, manholes, and painted curbing increase the likelihood of standing water and loss of grip. Fortunately the current forecast shows dry conditions for race day, but a wet race here would test drivers and safety teams in equal measure.

Paddock atmosphere and small moments

The paddock has come a long way in presentation from the first year. Colored light towers give off an unusual hue that makes for interesting photographs. There’s a chapel on-site, a Cadillac Lego car on display, and even a chess session in the paddock where Grandmaster Eric Hansen took on Pierre Gasly. Small cultural touches like these, and the American Express hospitality stand near turn one, underline the entertainment-first nature of the event while reminding us this is still a demanding racing environment.

Drivers Lando Norris and George Russell celebrated their 150th Grand Prix weekends, with plans for ceremonies that were disrupted by the weather. Those social moments are part of why Las Vegas remains an attractive stop on the calendar, even as logistics and safety challenges keep the job interesting for race officials.

The great Las Vegas fries test: taste, weight, and value

Because race weekends are also about food, a small experiment was carried out: a taste and value test of fries from eight popular fast-food chains in Las Vegas. Each regular serve was bought, weighed, and rated for taste out of 10, then priced per kilogram to determine value for money. The method was simple: weigh the serve, subtract packaging, divide the price by weight.

• In-N-Out: $2.33 for 92.6 g → just over $25/kg. Taste 5/10.
• Five Guys: $6.50 for ~380 g → ~$17/kg. Taste 8.5/10. Best overall.
• Jack in the Box: $3.57 for 126 g → ~$28/kg. Taste 4/10.
• Chick-fil-A: $2.90 for 118 g (waffle fries) → just under $25/kg. Taste 7/10.
• McDonald’s: $4.11 for 105 g → ~ $39/kg. Taste 5.5/10. Worst value.
• Shake Shack: $4.86 for 175 g → ~$28/kg. Taste 6.8/10.
• Carl’s Jr.: $4.19 for 130 g → ~$32/kg. Taste 6.6/10.
• Burger King: $3.67 for 145 g → just over $25/kg. Taste 5.2/10.

Five Guys prevailed both in taste and value. McDonald’s offered the worst value by price per kilogram, even if the taste profile stayed familiar. It’s a reminder that price and portion size can tell a different story than flavor alone.

Key takeaways

• Stopping the session twice was correct. Safety beats track time every time.
• Street circuits need bespoke inspection regimes. Infrastructure designed for roads faces different stresses from race cars.
• Preheat and proper welding matter. The repair crew used sound metallurgical practice to avoid introducing new defects.
• Weather rules can cause long delays. Lightning within four miles forces 30-minute exclusion periods and potential resets.
• Small comforts and curiosities—from heaters on the pit wall to paddock chess—keep the atmosphere lively even when the action stops.

Could a manhole cover really destroy an F1 car?

Yes. Even relatively small drain covers have previously caused severe damage to cars. At high speed, a lifting manhole cover can be struck with tremendous force or create an aerodynamic effect that unsettles a car. The 2023 incident with a smaller drain cover damaged Carlos Sainz’s car; a larger manhole could have been far worse.

Why did the repair crew use a propane torch before welding?

Preheating reduces the risk of thermal shock. Welding cold metal can cause cracking. The torch brought the surrounding metal up to a temperature that allowed a safer, more reliable weld.

How do lightning rules affect race timing?

If lightning is detected within a predefined radius, personnel and possibly spectators must shelter. That leads to at least a 30-minute delay, and the countdown resets if another strike occurs during that period. It is a strict safety protocol, not negotiable.

Could rain cause aquaplaning on this circuit?

It could. Street circuits often have painted surfaces, manholes, and limited camber, which complicate drainage. If heavy rain made standing water, aquaplaning is a possibility, and teams would need to adjust strategy and tyre choice accordingly.

Which fast-food fries were best for taste and value?

Five Guys topped both categories in this informal test. McDonald’s offered the worst price-per-kilogram value despite being a familiar taste for many.

Final thought

Running a race on public roads adds spectacle and challenge but brings hidden technical risks. The manhole incident was a timely reminder that safety systems and quick-thinking crews are the backbone of any race weekend. While the paddock buzzed with hospitality, heaters, and even chess matches, the job of keeping the circuit safe never stops. That balance between entertainment and engineering is exactly what makes this sport so fascinating.