Formula One Las Vegas Race Off To ‘Unacceptable’ Start

Formula One arrived in Sin City this week for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but teams haven’t been pleased with the quality of the conditions.

“It’s just unacceptable for F1 (on Friday),” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told reporters, per The Athletic’s Luke Smith.

This weekend’s race cost F1 over half a billion dollars, but the first practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was canceled due to a loose concrete frame around a water valve cover.

“It struck Carlos Sainz’s oncoming Ferrari at almost 200 mph, as well as damaging Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu,” Smith wrote. “On safety grounds, there was no choice but to call off the session, inspect the circuit and make the necessary repairs.”

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The second practice was delayed, and fans were asked to leave due to “logistical considerations.”

Team presidents were not happy about the damage costs that came at no fault of their own. The race did not have a lot of hype heading into the weekend, but F1 hopes the Las Vegas Grand Prix can boost its mainstream appeal.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told reporters the spectacle and the sporting side of F1 are two different entities, and it’s possible Sunday’s race could make the events leading up to it a memorable experience for the right reasons rather than the disaster the Las Vegas Grand Prix could be.