Formula One’s first Las Vegas Grand Prix in decades didn’t get off to a good start Thursday night. A drain cover came loose less than 10 minutes into the first practice session and seriously damaged Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. After later inspection, Alpine stated it had to replace Esteban Ocon’s chassis as a result of damage from a loose drain cover.
Free Practice 1 was cancelled as a result after just nine minutes of running. Free Practice 2 was delayed to 2 a.m. local time and extended to 90 minutes after crews made repairs on track, but fans were not allowed back to watch the second session of the night.
After Ferrari made significant repairs to his car, Sainz was given a 10-spot penalty for the race.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm released a joint statement Friday afternoon in the wake of the multiple problems. The statement specifies the session stopped due to a water valve cover that broke on Las Vegas Boulevard and crews inspected the rest of the track.
“The decision to run the second Free Practice session at 2:30 AM PT was supported by all parties to ensure the sporting integrity of the remainder of the event,’ the statement read. “We would like to thank the drivers, mechanics and all the teams for their patience and commitment last night to ensure that we could run the session successfully.’
The statement details the decision to send fans home was because of concern for ‘public safety and security officials who had been in service for a long time,’ for transportation employees driving fans back to hotels who were ‘bumping up against the amount of time they can legally and safely drive buses,’ and hospitality staff needing to clean and resupply guest areas for the fan experience.
Those decisions plus delays, closing for fans, empty restaurants, and blocked views caused a reaction from fans on social media.
F1 fans react to Carlos Sainz penalty
This isn’t the first time drain covers have been a problem in Formula 1. The most recent drain cover damage happened during the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix when George Russell ran over one during Free Practice 1 in his Williams.
But Sainz receiving a penalty for repairing damage caused by the circuit led to pushback from fans.
Formula 1 teams, fans confused and disappointed by delays, closings
Fans weren’t the only ones confused by the delays into the early hours of Friday morning. Even Williams’ and Alpine’s team accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, got into a game of tic-tac-toe to pass the time.
Empty restaurants, street views blocked next to the Las Vegas Strip Circuit
With Formula One in town this weekend, local restaurants were expecting to be busy starting Thursday night. But that wasn’t the case in some spots on the Strip.
Walkways along the track were impacted, too, with black tarps and work lights deterring passersby from staying to watch.
What changes is F1 making for the rest of the Las Vegas Grand Prix?
Domenicali and Wilm’s statement says other events in F1 and beyond have been cancelled or affected because of weather or technical issues and the organization hopes people will understand.
For Friday night’s Free Practice 3 and Qualifying sessions, the statement reads that F1 officials ‘have worked overnight to adjust our staffing plans across security, transportation and hospitality to ensure that we can function and serve fans with the best possible experience in the event of an extended race schedule.’
Free Practice 3 starts at 11:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPNU. Qualifying starts at 3:00 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will be broadcast on ESPN.