It’s safe to say that the Las Vegas Grand Prix, regarded as the new flagship event on the world Formula One calendar, couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start on Thursday night.
Fans attending the late-night practice session saw just nine minutes of practice before the session was delayed and eventually cancelled, with Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari being extensively damaged when the concrete frame around the water valve covers gave way.
Formula 1 had to inspect all other water valve covers around the circuit and make necessary improvements, which caused a significant delay in the start of the second free practice session.
The Las Vegas schedule, already considered the worst race of the season for American fans, just got worse. Instead of the 3am ET start time for FP2, the session was pushed back to 4:30am ET, and the delay caused ticketed fans to be kicked out of the grandstands and hospitality areas.
Local police cleared the grandstand area just before the session began, after fans had sat and waited for hours. According to the FIA, the decision was made due to “logistical issues.”
Through work out:
“Due to the late hour and logistical challenges of safely transporting fans and staff out of the stadium, LVGP has made the difficult decision to close the Fan Zone prior to the start of Free Practice 2.”
Last minute ticket prices for the Las Vegas session have plummeted as it becomes clear that F1 has vastly overestimated demand, but fans who come to watch Thursday practice could be losing out on a ton of money. In 2022, Thursday practice tickets were selling for more than $100. 900 dollars.
Fans were understandably upset.
F1 fans in Las Vegas today:
– I spent thousands of dollars to be there.
– I watched FP1 9 minutes
– I waited for hours for the next session.
– Kicked out just before FP2 started
– F1 has yet to apologize
– I don’t think a refund will be possible.I feel so bad 😞
— Matt Gallagher (@MattP1Gallagher) November 17, 2023
I was fascinated by their numbers on the ultimate true financial impact of this year’s F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Strip is dead. The restaurants are empty. The shows are dark. They’re telling everyone who doesn’t have a race ticket to stay away. So far, it’s just a cold, miserable scene.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 17, 2023
Drivers are complaining
Teams are complaining
Fans are complaining
Tickets aren’t selling
A small crowd that had attended the practice was kicked out.What more do they need to realize that this entire race weekend is a disaster?
— Harin¹ ¹⁶ (@lestappenwdc) November 17, 2023
Fans who were kicked out of FP2 today are outraged on Reddit.
“The $200+fee Thursday limited tickets were the only ones we could responsibly purchase. […] We waited 6 hours in the cold to get information about FP2. […] They kicked us all out… and the session continued anyway.” #F1
— Simon Dow (@there_is_no_if) November 17, 2023
