Las Vegas Grand Prix (2023)

LOL

Somehow an even dumber start than anyone could imagine. Seems important to note the track was not formally approved until this morning, and that was probably out of urgency!
 
I knew this race was going to be a trashcan but wow, expectations exceeded in record time.

Embarrassing.
 
They’ve been working on the streets for six months and somehow still managed to have a bump (poorly welded drain cover?) cancel a session within ten minutes. Incredible work, gang.
 
FLRacingFan said:
They’ve been working on the streets for six months and somehow still managed to have a bump (poorly welded drain cover?) cancel a session within ten minutes. Incredible work, gang.
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lol fukin idiots.

I don’t think this is something that can be fixed in a few hours. Two victims within 10 minutes. Yeah this weekend will be a wash.
 
I like how ESPN nope'd out of sky's coverage and went to football. Not.

Seriously worry some if indeed the cover was welded, and it sucked the whole assembly out of the pavement. Not good.
 


AKA, go to sleep, practices aren’t happening and tomorrow’s activities might not even happen.
 
They’re saying the concrete surround failed.

1700198739761.png
 
If it's a concrete failure, this could be a quick weekend. Eyeball the rest of the drains and say "ehhhh, looks good?" Fix the rest of them and let them cure?
 
Speedbowl14 said:
If it's a concrete failure, this could be a quick weekend. Eyeball the rest of the drains and say "ehhhh, looks good?" Fix the rest of them and let them cure?
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If I was a driver, I wouldn’t feel safe at all.

If one failed, it should be procedure to check all the rest.
 
Ya’ll left me all alone up in here.

Looks like Ferrari has written Sainz car as a total loss.

 
Reck said:
Ya’ll left me all alone up in here.

Looks like Ferrari has written Sainz car as a total loss.

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They’ll probably have to have the promoter - which in this case, is F1 themselves - pay for the damages and exclude the expenses from the cost cap.

Also just generally the last team you want to piss off and have go rogue. What a catastrophe.
 
Weren't drain covers a big topic of conversation leading up to the Chicago street weekend for Cup? You'd think the FIA would have been more on top of this...
 
FLRacingFan said:
They’ll probably have to have the promoter - which in this case, is F1 themselves - pay for the damages and exclude the expenses from the cost cap.

Also just generally the last team you want to piss off and have go rogue. What a catastrophe.
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F1 going rogue already. Contradicting the FIA on what is happening.



There are pictures out already of at least two manhole covers busted.
 
DSquad48 said:
Weren't drain covers a big topic of conversation leading up to the Chicago street weekend for Cup? You'd think the FIA would have been more on top of this...
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I think they even had this issue at Baku several years ago, though not this badly.
 
So FP2 finished one hour ago, 4 AM local time. Lol

At least they got it fixed I suppose. Sainz also got back out there. Though sounds like it was run behind closed doors as all the VIPs and fans were told to leave after the security guards’ shift ended as scheduled…

 
I guess the good news is the tires did ok in the cold. At least it's good enough to race.
 
No rule could prevent him (Sainz)from earning a 10-place grid penalty for using a third battery, however, his power unit also having sustained significant damage in his FP1 accident on the damaged track. The stewards unusually admitted to searching for a regulation that might allow them to let the Ferrari driver off the hook given the “highly unusual external circumstances” but to no avail.
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racer.com

Leclerc tops delayed second Las Vegas GP practice

Charles Leclerc topped a long-delayed second practice session at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in his repaired Ferrari. FP2 got underway 2.5 hours behind schedul…
racer.com racer.com

Since it is the organizer's job to provide a safe environment, I don't think it's fair that Sainz he got hit with a penalty for the battery getting destroyed. It wasn't like the part failed or the driver damaged it. This is strictly on the organizers. Ferrari should not be penalized by a situation created by the event organizers. They should also take the damage off Ferrari's cost cap.

Let's just hope that's the last booby trap of the weekend. They are not off to a great start. At least the tires performed well enough for them to make some laps.
 
At this point we will need to be happy if they get the race off at all and no one gets hurt. This thing with manhole covers is unacceptable, but it's happened at least three times I can remember.

The worst was at the 1990 WEC Canada. It's kind of inexcusable this can still happen 30 years later. Bad news. They can easily kill someone with booby traps like this.


​
 
I used to be amazed how NHRA could turn around an engine rebuild in under an hour.
Ferrari re-building an entire F1 car in a couple hours is a whole new level of WOWness.
Seeing Ferrari's Freddy Vasseur give his candid opinions of the FP1 events in interviews,
they are my sentimental favorites after finishing 1,2 in FP2. Bravo Ferrari !

That sphere is cu.....razy cool:
1700238321108.png
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
People on social media calling it Fyre Fest 2.0 😂😂😂😂
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I called Fyre Fest GP a week ago:

https://racing-forums.com/threads/f1-2023-news-misc.74706/post-2107146

They dropped $600M on a 10-year commitment and so far it’s gone even worse than expected. You could probably get away with inconveniencing locals for a little bit, even chunks of track coming up, but spiting fans who paid a TON of money to come see this will ensure they’ll speedrun how to get kicked out of town within two or three years.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I called Fyre Fest GP a week ago:

https://racing-forums.com/threads/f1-2023-news-misc.74706/post-2107146

They dropped $600M on a 10-year commitment and so far it’s gone even worse than expected. You could probably get away with inconveniencing locals for a little bit, even chunks of track coming up, but spiting fans who paid a TON of money to come see this will ensure they’ll speedrun how to get kicked out of town within two or three years.
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The last thing the sport needs is a $600 failure. Stuff like this just happens and it's happened for the last 30 years. I mean, it's inexcusable, but the first runs on any new street track usually sees something no one could predict.

Completely throwing the spectators out and not letting them see a session they paid for is not good business. There wasn't enough security, so they really didn't have a choice. It's a bad deal for everyone, but they had better make sure the race goes on with no more delays if they want people to come back.

I think the best course would be to either hand out a pro-rated rebate to make up for it, or drag U2 back and have them put on a free concert. Something. They have to do something besides screw the paying spectators. Anyone remember the backlash from the 2005 USGP? `

For all the handwringing and discord, we still have a race ahead of us. Let's hope that goes well because we don't need this event to fail. If they can get through the rest of the weekend without another catastrophe I think they will be ok. After all, it's just practice, man. It's practice. Practice.
 
Kicking out fans when practice finally did get going is the absolute worst. That's super negative.

Yes, street circuits have had issues before with manhole covers coming up. The issue I take up with this particular incident is that it happened in part because they were scrambling to get the track finished. If they had done things by the book and given themselves perhaps a few more hours of track prep, this could've been avoided.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I called Fyre Fest GP a week ago:

https://racing-forums.com/threads/f1-2023-news-misc.74706/post-2107146

They dropped $600M on a 10-year commitment and so far it’s gone even worse than expected. You could probably get away with inconveniencing locals for a little bit, even chunks of track coming up, but spiting fans who paid a TON of money to come see this will ensure they’ll speedrun how to get kicked out of town within two or three years.
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NASCAR has, three times now, pulled off what F1 can't ... putting a race on in the middle of a major American metropolis.

In spite of a literally historic, once-in-a-lifetime flash flood, the Chicago race was a success and public attitude in the city shifted in favor of it once it was completed.

NASCAR has also raced twice in the middle of Los Angeles.
 
Doc Austin said:
The last thing the sport needs is a $600 failure. Stuff like this just happens and it's happened for the last 30 years. I mean, it's inexcusable, but the first runs on any new street track usually sees something no one could predict.

Completely throwing the spectators out and not letting them see a session they paid for is not good business. There wasn't enough security, so they really didn't have a choice. It's a bad deal for everyone, but they had better make sure the race goes on with no more delays if they want people to come back.

I think the best course would be to either hand out a pro-rated rebate to make up for it, or drag U2 back and have them put on a free concert. Something. They have to do something besides screw the paying spectators. Anyone remember the backlash from the 2005 USGP? `

For all the handwringing and discord, we still have a race ahead of us. Let's hope that goes well because we don't need this event to fail. If they can get through the rest of the weekend without another catastrophe I think they will be ok. After all, it's just practice, man. It's practice. Practice.
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For $600M they - and this is F1’s money, not anybody else’s - could’ve built their own road course pretty much anywhere. COTA was built for cheaper and is a fantastic venue in its own right and made the U.S. GP a calendar staple again.
 
Doc Austin said:
Completely throwing the spectators out and not letting them see a session they paid for is not good business. There wasn't enough security, so they really didn't have a choice.
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You can't kick the fans out because you're trying to save a little money and don't want to pay security overtime. The promoter has to eat that cost, plain and simple.
 
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