LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The first practice for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was great, for about eight minutes before one of the cars was damaged by a loose water valve cover Thursday night.
Tens of thousands of fans were disappointed by the delay and asked to leave around 1:30 a.m. They are racing back to the Strip for the rest of the event, hoping the hiccup on the track doesn’t cause any more bumps on the road.
Todd LePique and his wife, Lysa Barbano visited from Florida. They told 8 News Now that they were at dinner, getting ready to go on Thursday evening when they heard of the delay.
“We waited a little and went down to see if they’d start eventually, we gave up and went back to the room,” Barbano said.
“They chased everybody out of there, so I didn’t bother trying to go back,” LePique said he took to the Strip at 2:30 a.m. however he said he couldn’t get to the grandstand seats.
Tim Springer and Angelika Rampal from Southern California enjoyed the first few laps from a restaurant inside the Aria.
“Slowly everything ground to a halt,” Springer recalled. “That’s ok it happens in F1 racing, but we didn’t know when things would start again.”
Other out-of-state fans admitted to paying around $1,400 per ticket and hoped for a good show.
“I heard about the valve, and I need them to get that together because it’s been a long flight, a lot of logistics, however, it sounds like they have it all handled,” Jade Smith from D.C. said. “They were able to have the practice, and we are excited to see what they have in store tonight and tomorrow.”
