The very first practice session at the brand new Las Vegas Strip Circuit got underway on Friday morning (8:30pm Thursday night local time), with everyone excited to see cars race around Sin City for the first time in over 40 years.
However, FP1 would last just eight minutes after Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was badly damaged by a loose manhole cover.
The session was stopped and then cancelled altogether with the FIA needing to ‘check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time’, which in turn delayed the start of FP2 by two-and-a-half hours.
That session (which finished at 4:30am local time) ran without a hitch on track thankfully, but there were no spectators watching them as they were forced to leave the venue because, according to Sky Sports, the session time ran over the contractual obligation of circuit staff.
‘Given the latest of the hour and logistical concerns regarding the safe movement of fans and employees out of the circuit, LVGP made the difficult decision to close the fan zones prior to the beginning of Free Practice Two,’ the Las Vegas Grand Prix said in a statement.
Fans were understandably angry at this turn of events, especially after paying an extortionate amount to be there, with the average three-day ticket price for the weekend said to be over £5,000 and that’s not even including accommodation and travel.
‘Ridiculous! We waited for four hours and they gave us hope, they said at 2am we’re going to have the practice and nothing happened and now they’re telling us to leave. What a night!’ one disgruntled fan told Sky Sports.
‘We came from Los Angeles, we fly only for today, we spent the money for the airplane, the tickets for this place and nothing!’
Another said: ‘That’s what the big difference is you know, the optimism, the hope that it would continue.
‘We caught 10 minutes of the beginning and then we sat, we waited, we hung out, food was good, drinks were good. But we sat and nothing happened.’
‘It’s Vegas baby! It’s just what we expected wasn’t it? We wanted to stay there until three in the morning to watch the practice but it is what it is.’
As for what happened on track, Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc impressively topped FP2, half-a-second quicker than Sainz and Fernando Alonso.
MORE : Formula 1 drivers voice concerns over ‘distracting’ Las Vegas Sphere ahead of race
MORE : Formula 1 drivers voice concerns over ‘distracting’ Las Vegas Sphere ahead of race
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