F1 fans 'threatened with trespass charge' after disastrous Las Vegas GP start

After the first day of running, Liberty can be considered to have failed on every front. Sainz faces a ten-place grid penalty as a result of needing new power unit components due to the crash; spectators saw a fraction of the running they were promised; and TV viewers fared little better, with the delays running into the European work day, and late into the US night.

After travelling thousands of miles and spending hundreds of dollars on tickets — at a minimum — many spectators attempted to stay at the circuit following the cancellation of the first practice session, which began at 8.30pm local time. They patiently waited trackside while over 30 manholes were sealed shut and awaited news of a start time for FP2.

But in the early hours of the morning, an announcement was played across the tannoy: “Due to logistical considerations for our fans and staff, we made the determination that we will be closing all Las Vegas Grand Prix fan areas at 1.30am. We look forward to welcoming fans back later today for exciting free practice 3 and qualifying sessions.” The practice session finally started an hour later.

Reddit user Adam R46 posted a picture of a man in police uniform in the grandstands, with a caption: “Fan getting kicked out by police at the start of FP2, threatening trespassing charges”. Other users reported similar stories, describing being ordered out of viewing areas by officials with loudspeakers.

Some fans didn’t even manage to see the short burst of action in the first practice session. A newly-constructed pedestrian bridge to the T-Mobile FanZone underneath the Sphere reportedly failed, forcing fans to take a much longer and congested route through the Venetian Hotel, causing them to miss the start of the session.

“The walk [from my hotel] to centre strip is 40mins” said one fan. “Many of us just got re-routed and had to follow huge crowds.”

“It’s a f****ing joke,” added another.

As they left the circuit, many fans continued to voice their anger.

“We’ve travelled here from Los Angeles just for today,” one fan told Sky Sports F1. “We paid money for flights, we paid money for this [Las Vegas GP], and we saw nothing.”

“It was ridiculous,” added another. “We waited for four hours and they kept giving us hope. They said ‘at 2am we’re going to have the session’ but then nothing.”

When the extended FP2 session eventually went ahead, drivers were greeted by nothing but empty grandstands and silence, a far cry from the “unmatched atmosphere at any ticket level” that was promised.

“The delay in the start of the second Free Practice session from midnight to 2.30am created risks for our employees and our fans,” said the joint statement from Wilm and Domenicali. “We made the decision to close the fan areas that are under Las Vegas Grand Prix purview at 1.30am and send fans home.

“Let us explain why. First, we were concerned about our public safety and security officials who had been in service for a long time and who are being asked to work for the next three nights. Second, we were concerned about our transportation employees who are responsible for driving our fans back to hotels. By Federal law, they were bumping up against the amount of time they can legally and safely drive buses.

“We know this was disappointing… It happens, and we hope people will understand.”

“Finally, our hospitality staff needed the ability to clean and resupply our guest areas to ensure that the fan experience is optimal for everyone over the coming days.

“We know this was disappointing. We hope our fans will understand based on this explanation that we had to balance many interests, including the safety and security of all participants and the fan experience over the whole race weekend. We have all been to events, like concerts, games and even other Formula 1 races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues. It happens, and we hope people will understand.

“We are excited about the racing today and thank our entire team and our fans for their support. We know this is going to be a great event. With that let’s get back to racing.”

The second day did unfold with a smoother third practice session and qualifying, and senior figures believe that the first day’s troubles can be overcome.

“It’ll probably be one of the most watched Grands Prix we’ve ever had in our sport,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown. “It’s unfortunate the way we’ve kicked things off.

“But putting that aside we have a tremendous number of corporate partners out here, plus lots of fans and lots of attention. It’s an example of Liberty taking the sport to another level, so I hope we can get the show back on the road.”