Formula One fans upset at being forced to leave the Las Vegas Grand Prix venue early before the start of the second practice session filed a class-action lawsuit. Las Vegas-based Dimopoulos Law Firm and co-counsel JK Legal & Consulting on Saturday filed the lawsuit against the Las Vegas Grand Prix and its owner, Liberty Media, in Nevada state court seeking at least $30,000 in damages.
Those who bought tickets to race’s opening night saw just nine minutes of action Thursday night before Carlos Sainz Jr ran over a water valve cover and damaged his Ferrari. Race officials inspected the course, which resulted in a 2 1/2-hour delay for the second session, which began at 2:30 a.m. local time on Friday. They also extended the practice session from an hour to 90 minutes.
Race officials have since offered a USD 200 discount at the official gift shop, but only for those who held single-night tickets Thursday. The majority of fans have three-day passes.
F1 President Stefano Domenicali and Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, issued a statement on Friday saying they closed the track to spectators for safety and legal reasons.
“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,” the statement read.
“It happens, and we hope people will understand.”
