Fans at the Vegas Grand Prix who were sent home gave $200 gift certificates for F1 goods.
F1’s long-awaited show on the streets of America, a gambling haven, got off to a rough start on Thursday as Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari hit a loose water valve cover and sustained major damage. The incident happened less than eight minutes into FP1.
Track workers stopped the session to take down the thirty covers around the 6.2 km track and fill them in with sand as well as asphalt, which caused FP2 to start 2 hours and 30 minutes later than planned.
By the time the second practice started at 2:30 a.m. local time, fans as well as hospitality guests had been escorted out of the event because of labor and logistics rules. This ruined what should be F1’s triumphant arrival to its dream destination city.
F1 as well as the Las Vegas Grand Prix both said a few things to explain what was going on. Fans who only had a Thursday ticket and could only see eight seconds of practice were not given an apology or a refund. Instead, they were given $200 coupons to spend on the event’s online store.
A message sent to people who bought a single-day ticket said, “At a Formula 1 race, the safety and security for drivers, fans, as well as staff alike is the most important thing.”
“Because of what happened with the water valve cover last night, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, F1, and the FIA had to make the tough choice to close the fan zones before the start of Free Practice 2.
“Thank you for being patient while we fixed the problem. This wasn’t an easy choice for us to make. Want to say thanks for your help? Here’s a $200 gift certificate to the Las Vegas Grand Prix Official Shop.
Formula 1 fans in single-day tickets to the Las Vegas Grand Prix have been offered $200 coupons, but no explanation or refund was ever given.
Fans who had tickets for just one day could only see eight minutes of racing because FP1 had to be stopped because Carlos Sainz hit a water valve cover which had come loose on the track because the cars running over it had broken the concrete base around it.
The monocoque, engine, control systems, and energy store inside the Ferrari were all destroyed. Esteban Ocon also had a chassis repair after hitting the cover.
FP1 was canceled, and the track was inspected for a long time to make sure that something similar didn’t happen with the sewers, which has occurred before on street tracks in Monaco and Azerbaijan.
Fans were sent home at 1:30 a.m. because security staff “timed out,” and the second practice didn’t start until 2:30 a.m. local time, two and a half hours later than planned.
A statement released soon after FP2 finished at 4:00 a.m. local time on Friday did not mention a possible refund or apology. Instead, fans were only given a $200 voucher that they could use at the official merchandise booth.
Las Vegas’s return on the Formula 1 calendar had been anything but smooth. Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari crashed on a loose manhole cover in the first practice session on Thursday, ending the session after only nine minutes.
As Esteban Ocon sped down the Strip, he hit the cover and loosened it, which hurt the frame of his Alpine. So Sainz hit the same line when he took it.