Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest in the second practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix at the end of an embarrassing first night on Thursday when the opening session was abandoned after just nine minutes because of a loose drain cover.

Leclerc was 0.517 seconds faster than his team-mate Carlos Sainz, who had been at the centre of the farcical FP1 session when his car hit the drain cover earlier.

Adding to the messy nature of the opening night of action at the new track, the second practice finished at 4am local time having started two and a half hours behind schedule and with fans being asked to leave the venue.

Sainz was forced to a stop in his Ferrari after hitting the cover, resulting in a red flag and damage to the front of his car on what should have been a triumphant return for F1 to Vegas after two races in 1981 and 1982.

Sparks flew from the bottom of Sainz's car after it hit what organisers called a "water valve cover".

After some delay organisers announced that the session would not be resumed.

The second practice session was scheduled for midnight local time but was delayed as course workers carried out urgent checks and repairs.

Adding to the public relations damage, fans at the track were left unclear about when that session would take place for over two hours before they were asked to leave by police with volunteers and staff having reached the end of their shifts.

When FP2 began, Sainz was promptly handed a ten-place grid penalty for the weekend's race for using a third energy store of the season — one more than regulations allow. Stewards said they had no choice but to impose the mandatory sanction despite "highly unusual external circumstances".

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur was clearly angry about the state of the track in a news conference after FP1.

"We damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it's just unacceptable," he said.