Formula One fans upset at having to leave the Las Vegas Grand Prix venue early Friday morning before the start of second practice have filed a class action lawsuit.
Las Vegas-based law firm Dimopoulos and its co-counsel JK Legal & Consulting filed a lawsuit in Nevada state court against the Las Vegas Grand Prix and its owner Liberty Media, seeking at least $30,000 in damages.
Those who bought tickets for the opening night of the race saw just nine minutes of action on Thursday night before Carlos Sainz Jr. drove over a water valve cover and damaged his Ferrari. Race officials inspected the track, resulting in a two-and-a-half-hour delay for the second session, which began at 2:30 a.m. local time on Friday. They also extended the exercise session from one hour to 90 minutes.
Since then, race officials have offered a $200 discount at the official gift shop, but only to those who had one-night tickets on Thursday. The majority of fans have three-day passes.
Fernando Alonso of Spain, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team driver, during qualifying practice at the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 17, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto via Getty Images
F1 president Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm issued a statement on Friday saying they had closed the track to spectators for safety and legal reasons.
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“We have all been to events such as concerts, games and even other Formula 1 races that were canceled due to factors such as weather or technical problems,” the statement said. “It’s happening and we hope people understand.”
Formula One took a big risk on the $500 million race, the costs of which included rehabilitating roads, building fences and advertising. The nearly 4-mile route runs along Sin City’s famous landmarks.
Part of what makes the Las Vegas Grand Prix unique is that it is held on city streets, and the loss of those streets has left some locals frustrated.
Wade Bohn told CBS News that the track construction blocked visitors from entering his 24-hour supermarket.
“We didn’t need F1,” Bohn told CBS News.
He said he had to lay off half his staff and lost about 80% of his business.
“I mean, we’re out here on an island and we’re just drowning,” Bohn said. “If they make this bridge permanent, I’m done because there’s no traffic,” Bohn said of the 760-foot-long Flamingo Road bridge, which was built for the race but recently opened to general traffic if they don’t was used for the Grand Prix race.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it’s unclear whether the bridge will become permanent or be removed once this year’s race is over.
Formula 1 currently has a three-year contract with the city for the Grand Prix, with the option to extend it for a further seven years thereafter.
“Hopefully Formula One learns a lot from this first year and fixes a lot of things so that next year and in the years to come it will run more smoothly,” Jeff Toco from Las Vegas told CBS News.
—Elizabeth Campbell contributed to this report.