Charles Leclerc set the pace from Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin rival Fernando Alonso during a busy extended second practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix that ran through the early hours of Friday morning.

After a shortened FP1, a host of lock-ups and off-track excursions filled the opening minutes of the delayed FP2 as drivers built up speed around the 6.201-kilometre, 17-turn Las Vegas Strip Circuit and got used to its characteristics.

Such has been the way for most of the 2023 season, Verstappen got straight down to business and led the early running with a time of 1m 38.209s on Pirelli’s medium compound tyre, slotting ahead of the Ferraris and Alex Albon’s Williams.

Shortly afterward, the drivers started to pump in some qualifying-style laps on the soft rubber, with Verstappen experiencing a scruffy first run and at one point coming close to clipping the wall, opening the door for several rivals to take a turn at the top of the timesheets.

A host of improvements followed as the track condition improved and drivers built up confidence, ending with Leclerc holding P1 on a 1m 35.265s, just over half a second clear of team mate Sainz – braced for a 10-place grid penalty after changes to his power unit – and Alonso’s Aston Martin.