Why FP3 and qualifying at F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix may be delayed

The first day of track action at the 1st F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix got off to a very eventful start.

As a result, the second day of track action, including qualifying, may be delayed.

Just minutes into FP1, Carlos Sainz Jr. collided with a loose manhole cover, causing significant damage to his SF-23. As a result of the impact, the session was red-flagged as security personnel repaired the loose cover and checked the rest of the course.

FP1 was ultimately cancelled, and FP2 was also delayed as work on the track took more than two and a half hours. The final did not start until 2:30am local time and was extended by 30 minutes to make up for the time lost in FP1.

In the end, FP2 ended at 4am local time.

This is the difficult part.

under F1 sports rulesin particular Article 38.2.b, allows FP3 to start within 18 hours after the end of FP2.

As FP2 ends at 4am local time, this section of the current sporting regulations means the earliest time FP3 can start is 10pm local time.

It is currently scheduled to start at 8:30pm local time.

Now let’s assume that FP3 is postponed to 10pm local time, per the guidelines. What does that mean for qualifying, which is scheduled to begin at midnight local time?

Delayed again.

Pursuant to Article 39.1.b of the Sporting Regulations, qualifying may not start more than two hours after the end of FP3.

Therefore, according to sporting regulations, if FP3 is postponed to 10pm local time and runs for an hour, it will end at 11pm local time. This means that for this section, the earliest qualifying start will be 1am local time.

For those of you reading this on the East Coast, it’s 4am.

Again, this is what is stated in the sports rules. I’m just a former lawyer turned sportswriter, and in my past life I spent my time reading rules and such.

Now we will have to wait and see whether FP3 and qualifying will take place as planned, or whether the rules will require rescheduling.