LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The first practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was canceled while the second practice session was delayed on Thursday due to two drivers hitting a water valve cover.
On Friday afternoon, Formula 1 and Las Vegas Grand Prix officials released a joint statement explaining the reasoning behind why it took so long to make repairs as well as why fans were removed from the circuit and the grandstands ahead of the second practice session, which began on Friday morning at 2:30 a.m.
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About nine minutes into the session, the cover broke after Ferrari's Carlos Sainz ran over it. According to Formula 1 officials, FIA, their governing body, stopped the session for safety reasons.
"The precautionary step of removing all of the water valve covers on the entire track and filling them with sand and asphalt was undertaken. The entire process, from determination of the issue to remediation, took approximately five hours," the statement reads. "The decision to remediate in this way was taken out of an abundance of caution and because the safety of drivers, trackside marshals and officials and our fans is always our highest priority. We thank the contractors who worked expeditiously to resolve the situation so quickly."
Safety was also one of the reasons why race officials said they chose to close fan areas at 1:30 a.m. instead of letting people watch the second session.
"We were concerned about our public safety and security officials who had been in service for a long time and who are being asked to work for the next three nights," the statement reads in part. "We were concerned about our transportation employees who are responsible for driving our fans back to hotels. By Federal law, they were bumping up against the amount of time they can legally and safely drive buses. Finally, our hospitality staff needed the ability to clean and resupply our guest areas to ensure that the fan experience is optimal for everyone over the coming days."
They added they know they have let down their fan base with that decision.
"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 continues. "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."
Team Principals, as well as race officials, have all stressed that this type of incident is not unusual and has happened before. For example, it happened whenever George Russell was driving for Williams Racing during the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which was about 12 minutes into the first free practice session of the day. Manhole covers have also caused races to be paused in Malaysia in 2017, Azerbaijan in 2016, Monaco in 2016, and China in 2005.
Race officials said they have worked through the night to adjust staffing plans to make sure they can give fans "the best possible experience" for the rest of the event. Tonight's practice session is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. with qualifying scheduled for midnight.
