- It was reported that several cars had problems, including Hamilton’s and Piastri’s
- According to reports, this affects the left side of the track – near Max Verstappen’s starting position
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A little more than an hour before the lights went out, workers rushed to clean up an oil spill on the Las Vegas Grand Prix race track.
At some point during the drivers’ parade, one of the vintage cars in which the racers were sitting began to leak oil.
According to reports, oil appears to have leaked from a 1950s convertible driven by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
Piastri also rode with his teammate Lando Norris. Additionally, Lewis Hamilton was seen working with Sergio Perez – lending credence to reports that the Mercedes driver’s vintage car was also leaking oil.
Later images showed some kind of liquid underneath Hamilton’s car – a retro Mercedes-Benz coupe.
Shortly before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, workers try to clean up an oil spill on the starting grid
Fluid is visible on the track surface directly below the car in this image
One of the classic drivers’ parade cars unloaded a load of oil right in front of the P2 starting position. Someone may get off to a terrible start. #F1 pic.twitter.com/ryVmwyIOXf
— Brad Philpot 🏎🏁 (@BradleyPhilpot) November 19, 2023
The left side of the track seemed to be the most affected by all of this – which could pose a problem for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was reportedly furious when he realized that his starting position in P2 would be affected the most.
“It’s definitely unfortunate for the insiders,” F1 commentator Danica Patrick said in Sky Sports’ pre-race coverage.
“That will be a loss of grip.” That is very unfortunate. I don’t know what they can do about it.
“Will they be able to drive cars over them sooner?” Probably not. It’s a busy network. That’s a problem.’
This is the latest in a series of serious safety issues at the track after a manhole cover from Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was sucked off the ground in FP1 on Thursday, causing a significant delay to proceedings that evening.
Oil spill on track after drivers parade ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix… as more problems emerge before the race even begins