Formula One is hoping to turn its luck around on the Strip, like so many other Las Vegas visitors who blow a big bankroll on arrival.
The elite global motorsports series placed a $500 million
gamble on a new event in Sin City promoted for the first time by F1 and owner
Liberty Media. But it now must recover after an opening-night debacle in which
the first practice was ruined just nine minutes in when Carlos Sainz Jr. ran
over a water valve cover on the temporary street course.
“Judge us by what happens when the checkered flag falls on
Saturday,” asked Williams team principal James Vowles.
When Sainz bottomed out on the drainage valve minutes into
Thursday night’s first practice, it caused extensive damage to the underbody of
his Ferrari and Sainz said the piece broke through far enough to damage his
seat. F1 then closed the course to inspect the entire 3.85-mile (6.2 kilometer)
circuit that utilizes a long portion of the Strip.
Nine minutes.
Those who spent who-knows-how-much got exactly nine minutes
of practice Thursday night.
By the time the next practice started, 2 1/2 hours late at
2:30 a.m., those in attendance had been ordered to leave fan viewing areas. F1
ran a 90-minute session until 4 a.m.. when preparations had to begin to re-open
the streets to morning commuter traffic.
F1 President Stefano Domenicali and Renee Wilm, CEO of the
Las Vegas Grand Prix, issued a a joint statement Friday night to explain the
debacle because “this is important for those who are new to racing to
understand.”
The statement did not offer an apology for Thursday night. A
second statement from the LVGP offered a $200 credit to Thursday-only ticket
holders — most sales have been three-day packages — to be spent at the official
merchandise store. The gestures only further angered fans already feeling
ripped off.
The statement from Domenicali and Wilm said organizers had
to close to spectators out of concern for safety workers and security officials
who still had to work the rest of the event. They also said F1 was up against
federal law regarding the amount of time transport workers taking spectators
back to hotels “can legally and safely drive buses.” They added that
hospitality staff needed to begin preparing for the next two days of
activities.
“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,” the statement said. “We have all been to events,
like concerts, games and even other Formula 1 races, that have been canceled
because of factors like weather or technical issues. It happens, and we hope
people will understand.”
“We know this is going to be a great event,” they said.
“With that let’s get back to racing.”
And without an apology or offer of a refund, F1 went racing
as if nothing had happened. Ferrari rebounded with a 1-2 in Friday night
qualifying led by Charles Leclerc with Sainz in second.
It’s a remarkable comeback for Sainz after Ferrari initially
said his car was so damaged Sainz could not participate in second practice. But
Ferrari used the lengthy delay to prepare him a new car. That heroic effort by
Ferrari will be punished with a 10-place penalty for Sainz on Saturday night’s
starting grid. That’s right: Sainz was punished for running over something on
the FIA-approved course.
Why? Because governing body FIA has no provision to the
rules to not penalize a team that makes extensive car changes during a race
weekend.
He’ll start 12th.
“I expect to move forward tomorrow. How much, I don’t know,”
Sainz said.
It’s such a laughable start to an extremely hyped race that
had started to sour even before F1 arrived.
Locals have been furious over disruptions during the
months-long building of the course, tickets have been outrageously expensive
and also available at reduced prices on a secondary market, hotels have
outpriced average American fans, and the scheduled on-track times have been
specifically targeted to the European audience.
Three-time reigning world champion Verstappen has blasted
the event as “99% show, 1% sporting event” and thinks the entire spectacle is
totally over the top. The race is the third stop this year in the United
States, more than any other country, as F1 and Liberty tried to capitalize on
the series’ new popularity driven by the Netflix “Drive to Survive” documentary
series.
Las Vegas is the most expensive race to attend on the
22-event schedule.
For those efforts, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was among the
team principals who applauded F1 and Liberty despite the valve cover debacle
Thursday night. And so was Fred Vasseur, the head of Ferrari who was irate over
the incident, defended F1.
“We know that it’s a sporting event, we know that this can
happen,” he said. “Now we have to recover on the weekend. I’m still convinced
that the event is mega for the F1.”
Wolff was most passionate in his defense of the event and
effort by F1 and Liberty. He was incensed with a reporter who challenged him on
his insistence that people would be so enamored by the event that they’d
quickly move past the Sainz incident.
“It’s completely ridiculous, completely ridiculous! FP1, how
can you even dare trying to talk bad about an event that sets the new
standards, new standards to everything,” Wolff said. “And then you’re speaking
about a (expletive) drain cover that’s been undone, that has happened before.
That’s nothing.
“Give credit to the people that have set up this grand prix,
that have made the sport much bigger than it ever was. Liberty has done an
awesome job. And just because in FP1 a drain cover has become undone, we
shouldn’t be moaning ... talking here about a black eye for the sport on a
Thursday evening. Nobody watches that in European time anyway.”
If they aren’t watching in Europe, than why was the event
held late Thursday night? Certainly not for the American audience — at least
not those in attendance who were forced out of the viewing areas. Those who
shelled out a fortune to come to Las Vegas this weekend had to crowd into the
few uncovered sections of fencing along the Strip to catch glimpses of the cars
whizzing by before sunrise.
By Friday night, banners had been erected to block some of
the previously unexposed openings.
F1 is trying for a better on-track show and one should hope
it can only get better. It’s unclear if at this point it would even matter. -AP