Despite turning out be one of the most exciting races of the season with tons of on-track action and strategy-based tension, the inaugural F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was plagued with issues at the start of the weekend.
Amidst all the controversy surrounding the race’s organization, the first practice session on Thursday saw an unsecured drain cover lay waste to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari SF-23, damaging the chassis, power unit, and battery as it got sucked up into the car’s underside. This resulted in the session being red-flagged after just 8 minutes of running, then abandoned altogether as F1 worked to secure the remaining drain covers around the circuit.
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Sainz was then hit with a 10-place grid penalty, as the replacement of the damaged components still exceeded the allowable limit for the season, despite the incident being a result of F1’s own failure to secure the drain cover.
Then, following a 2.5-hour delay, the second practice session finally began at 2:30 AM local time, but there were no fans in the grandstands. Instead, they had all been told to leave, as the organizers weren’t able to keep their security, transportation, and hospitality staff on call beyond a certain time. According to one Vegas GP attendee on Reddit, police were threatening some who refused to leave with potential trespassing charges.
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That wasn’t the worst part, though. It’s important to consider that some people only bought Thursday tickets. That means they paid hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to watch a mere 8 minutes of on-track action, wait for hours in the cold with minimal updates on what was happening, then be forced out of the venue lest they be hit with trespassing charges. Mind you, the second practice session hadn’t been cancelled, they just weren’t allowing spectators.
After fans began expressing disdain for the way things were being handled, F1 offered a $200 merchandise vouchers as compensation for the single-day ticketholders, but that wasn’t enough for most people, and it didn’t apply to the three-day ticketholders who missed a third of the racing they paid to see.
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This resulted in a class-action lawsuit being filed against F1. More specifically, Dimopoulos Law Firm and co-counsel JK Legal & Consulting filed the suit against Liberty Media Corporation, the Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix, and TAB Contractors Inc on behalf of the 35,000 people who held tickets for Thursday’s practice sessions.
As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the plaintiffs are seeking reimbursement on their travel, dining, and lodging expenses in addition to the ticket costs themselves. On Saturday, a race spokesperson said they could not comment on the litigation, stating only that “our focus is on ensuring that our fans have an entertaining experience in a safe and secure environment which is always our top priority.”
Opening Image: BWT Alpine F1 Team
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