F1’s retrurn to Las Vegas isn’t going to plan (Photo: Getty)
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix in relation to fans who were forced to leave their seats early.
F1 is back in Sin City after more than 40 years at a brand-new street circuit – an event the sport’s bosses have gone all out for.
So far however, it has been more miss than hit, with reigning champion Max Verstappen criticising the track and the emphasis on putting on a show rather than a great race.
On Saturday after qualifying, the Red Bull drive gave this scathing remark: ‘I think Monaco is like Champions League, this is National League.’
Prior to the weekend, local residents also expressed their annoyance at the disruption putting on the grand prix had caused.
And then on Thursday night local time, things went from bad to worse as first practice was stopped and the cancelled after just eight minutes after a loose manhole cover hit and severely damaged Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
As the track inspectors had to check the rest of the manhole covers to avoid another incident, practice two was delayed by two-and-a-half hours to 2:30am local time.
The average 3-day ticket price for the Las Vegas GP is said to be over £5000 (Photo: Getty)
As a result, the session time ran over the contractual obligation of the circuit staff and as such fan zones were closed and spectators forced to leave the grandstands before the cars got back on track.
Fans were understandably furious, more so because the Las Vegas Grand Prix is by far the most expensive race on the calendar, with many paying thousands of pounds to attend.
Officials have offered $200 merchandise vouchers to single-day ticket holders, but that compensation was not extended to those who had purchased three-day passes.
The manhole that caused the whole debacle (Photo: Motorsport Images)
Now, the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been hit with a lawsuit that alleges breach of contract, negligence, and deceptive trade practices.
Dimopoulos Law Firm and co-counsel JK Legal & Consulting filed the suit on Friday in Nevada District Court on behalf of 35,000 fans who purchased tickets to Thursday’s practice sessions.
‘We will vindicate the rights of the fans that traveled great distances and paid small fortunes to attend, but were deprived of the experience,’ Dimopoulos Law Firm owner and lead attorney Steve Dimopoulos said in a statement.
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‘There are a number of issues with that [compensation],’ Dimopoulos told Reuters.
‘Clearly that is not a refund that is sufficient. A lot of fans probably don’t even want that, they want their money back.
‘There are also peripheral issues of what about the people that came in from out of town and paid for substantial air fare and hotels.’
MORE : F1 star Esteban Ocon hits back at Max Verstappen after being called a ‘stupid idiot’
MORE : Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in ‘disbelief’ over grid penalty for Las Vegas Grand Prix
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F1 fans were forced to leave the circuit after watching just EIGHT minutes of racing.