2023 F1 Las Vegas GP's woes continue with class action lawsuit filed against organisation

The 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP did not kick off on the right note. Around nine minutes into FP1, Carlos Sainz's Ferrari was hit by a dislodged drain pipe cover on the track.

This resulted in a red flag and the complete cancellation of the session. FIA delegates and track engineers soon arrived at the scene and started inspecting every drain pipe cover so that they would no longer be an issue.

Due to this, there was a two-and-a-half-hour delay in FP2. The fans were then forced to leave the circuit due to the late-night transportation laws in the city. This left a bad taste in the mouths of those who had paid money to attend the Las Vegas GP, even for the practice sessions.

It is now being reported that a class action lawsuit has been filed against the Las Vegas GP organization by Dimopoulos Law Firm, working in conjunction with JK Legal & Consulting. This is on behalf of the 35,000 fans who were forced to leave the track between practice sessions and were only given a $200 voucher which could be used to purchase F1 merchandise.

The lead lawyer in the firm, Steve Dimopoulos, said (via PlanetF1):

“We will vindicate the rights of the fans that traveled great distances and paid small fortunes to attend but were deprived of the experience.”

The Las Vegas GP organization reportedly refused to comment on the lawsuit. They said they would continue to focus on the event at hand.

“We cannot comment on the litigation," they said. "Our focus is on ensuring that our fans have an entertaining experience in a safe and secure environment which is always our top priority.”

According to motorsport.com, the lawsuit claims a breach in contract, negligence and deceptive trade practices against the defendants (fans).

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David Croft dissatisfied with Las Vegas GP and F1's explanation of the FP1 and FP2 debacle

After the two practice sessions got over late Thursday night, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm released a statement explaining what exactly happened and why the fans were removed from the circuit before FP2.

However, F1 commentator David Croft noticed that there was no sign of an apology in the entire statement. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Whilst a full explanation of what happened yesterday is always welcome, there are lots of words in this statement. Surely ‘sorry’ should have been first on the list? Such a shame that it wasn’t the first, the last, or anywhere"