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F1 farce: Fans' fury at being turned away from chaotic Las Vegas Grand Prix
Disgruntled fans, some of whom had spent thousands of pounds on tickets, slammed Formula One’s “ridiculous” decision to ask them to leave the circuit at 2am, after they had waited almost six hours to watch some action on a farcical opening day at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After months of hype, the first practice session for the £500 million race was just eight minutes old when Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari stopped on track, having “sucked up” a loose water valve cover, destroying his chassis and sending sparks and plumes of smoke up into the air.
FP1, which had started at 8.30pm local time (04.30 UK time), was immediately red-flagged, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon having also hit the cover. Eleven minutes later it was called off completely as the FIA, F1 and local circuit engineering teams set to work inspecting and securing all covers on the circuit.
As marshals raced against time to get second practice under way, Formula One and Las Vegas Grand prix organisers tried to pacify fans, issuing a joint statement saying that “all tickets, food and beverage and entertainment options would continue to be honoured” during the review period.
However, by the time the track was deemed ready for an extended 90-minute second practice session it was 2.30am local time (10.30am UK time), and fans who had hung around for nearly six hours had already been ordered to leave the circuit.
“Ridiculous, I waited four hours,” one fan told Sky Sports F1 on his way out. “They gave us some hope and said at 2am that we’d have [FP2] but nothing happened. Now they’re telling us to leave.”
“People spent their money for nothing,” added another.
Formula One will be hugely embarrassed by the disastrous start to the weekend, especially as it came just 24hrs after world champion Max Verstappen had criticised the race, describing it as “99 per cent show, 1 per cent sporting event”.
Formula One is promoting the Las Vegas race itself, having invested £500m of its own money to buy and develop the land and paddock complex. But despite saying it anticipated 100,000-plus capacity crowds every day, many of the grandstands around the circuit were sparsely-attended for the first session of the weekend.
The high rollers who pay for Paddock Club passes are likely to be particularly miffed at being turfed out.
Ticket and hotel prices for the first Formula One grand prix to be held in Las Vegas in over 40 years are eye-watering, with some hospitality passes costing over $150,000 for the race weekend.
Fans are unlikely to be offered refunds.
Reaction among teams and drivers was varied.
Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur was absolutely furious in the aftermath of Sainz’s crash, describing it as completely “unacceptable” that the water valve covers had not been properly secured in advance, and complaining that the damage would cost his team “a fortune”.
His mood would have worsened when Sainz was handed a minimum 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race due to a change of chassis, combustion engine, battery and control electronics unit.
But Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, launched an impassioned defence of Formula One and its owners Liberty Media, denying the cancellation of FP1 was a “black eye” for the sport.
“That is not a black eye,” he said. “This is nothing. We are on a Thursday night, a free practice session that we’re not doing. They’re going to see about the remaining drain covers. And nobody is going to talk about that tomorrow morning anymore.”
The Austrian even lost his temper with one journalist who described that assertion as “absolute rubbish”, pointing out that similar manhole cover failures had happened in the past in Azerbaijan and Monaco.
“How can you even dare to talk back about an event that sets the new standards to everything? And then you are speaking about a f------ drain cover that’s been undone, that’s happened before? That’s nothing. It’s FP1.
“Give credit to the people that have set up this grand prix, that have made this sport much bigger than it ever was.
“Liberty has done an awesome job, and just because in FP1 a drain cover has come undone we shouldn’t be moaning.
“The [Ferrari] is broken, that’s really a shame. For Carlos, it could have been dangerous. So between the FIA, the track, everybody needs to analyse to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“But talking here about a black eye for the sport on a Thursday evening...nobody’s watching that on European time anyway.”
Las Vegas Grand Prix FP2: as it happened
Max Verstappen speaks
It was slippery out there. I have had better tracks in my life. There’s nothing new I discovered but we just get on with it. I think the soft [tyre] over one lap was good. Seemed like the soft was struggling on a long run and even the medium is not straightforward on a long run so there’s still lot to be done.
Sir Lewis Hamilton speaks
It’s so fast and it’s great to race out there. P1 wasn’t great but they sorted it out. When we’re all out on similar tyres we’re not far off. It’s massively challenging, even though they have the long straights there’s not many places to overtake because the grip and the tow is so low. Lots of degradation. Everyone’s struggling with jetlag but I feel great. I watched a movie during he break and I feel great.
Sainz goes quickest
Four hours after shattering his chassis and damaging his battery, Carlos Sainz’s leads FP1 with 1.39.891, a tenth of a second quicker than his team-mate Charles Leclerc managed first time round.
Norris’s problem seems to be worse than a software issue as his crew rapidly dismantle his car.
Yet another farce – fans sent home after seeing eight minutes
F1 sends fans home before Practice 2:
Some poor souls had been sitting in the cold until the early hours and have now been stopped from watching Practice when it eventually starts:
Preview: Race to fix manhole cover problems
Formula One was dealt a hugely embarrassing blow after first practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was abandoned.
The running under the lights of the Las Vegas strip was suspended when Carlos Sainz broke down in his Ferrari with just eight minutes on the clock.
And then 11 minutes later, at 8:49pm local time, it was announced the session would not be resumed – it emerged Sainz’s failure was caused by a loose manhole cover – and the start to second practice scheduled for midnight (8am GMT) would be delayed until at least 2am (10am GMT), if run at all.
Television replays showed Sainz being jolted in his cockpit as the cover struck the underneath of his machine as he approached 200mph on the Las Vegas Boulevard.
Esteban Ocon also smashed into the debris – against the backdrop of Caesars Palace, Bellagio and Venetian hotels - causing significant damage to his Alpine.
Ferrari described the damage to Sainz’s car as “extensive”, while Alpine said Ocon will require a new chassis.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Masseur said: “He [Sainz] said I hit something on track, and he didn’t know what it was. It is just unacceptable for F1.”
An FIA spokesperson said: “Following an inspection, a concrete frame around a manhole cover has failed.
“We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time.
“We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and we will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.”
Speaking on Sky Sports, Martin Brundle, said: “That’s it for today from my experience.
“Fixing that and checking everything else, letting it dry and making sure it won’t come out again is going to be a big job.
“Theoretically, they are going to re-open the Strip [for public use] after the F1 practice sessions. That is a very, very big issue if there are other areas like that around the track.”
The problems of loose manhole covers at street venues is not a new one in the sport.
Jenson Button struck a dislodged drain in practice in Monaco in 2016, while George Russell also ran over a drain cover in Azerbaijan four years ago.