A group of 35,000 spectators filed a lawsuit against Formula 1 following the manhole cover debacle at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. They are demanding compensation of $30,000 (27,500 euros) per person.
Law firms Dimopoulos Law and JK Legal & Consulting filed a lawsuit against Formula 1 promoter Liberty Media in the state of Nevada on behalf of affected fans. The lawsuit alleges “breach of contract, negligence and deceptive trade practices.”
The first day of Grand Prix practice in Las Vegas on Thursday (local time) was largely unsuccessful. First practice had to be stopped after eight minutes for safety reasons after Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was badly damaged by a loose manhole cover.
empty stalls
All of the nearly 30 manhole covers on the race track, where a Formula 1 race was held for the first time this year, were later checked one by one and fixed with cement. As a result, the second practice started with a significant delay.
The training did not end until 4 a.m. local time. The incident took place in front of empty stands because the spectators had to leave the stands “for security reasons”.
A day later, Formula 1 offered affected spectators a coupon code worth $200 (183 euros) for the racetrack’s fan shop. No apology was made to viewers in this message, presumably for legal reasons.
Max Verstappen, who won the Grand Prix on Sunday, expressed his condolences to fans over the weekend. “They had to wait a long time and then they were kicked out. If I were a fan, I would destroy the entire tent. That’s not possible, is it?”
The cheapest tickets for the Las Vegas GP cost around 1,000 Euros. Adding travel and accommodation expenses, as well as “emotional damage”, the compensation claimed was $30,000.
F1 hopes for understanding
“We will defend the rights of fans who often travel long distances and pay small fortunes to be here, but miss out on the experience they came for,” Dimopoulos Law said.
On Friday, Formula 1, along with the local organization, released a statement. “We have all been to an event such as a concert, sporting event or Formula 1 race that had to be canceled due to factors such as weather conditions or technical problems. This happens sometimes and we hope people understand that.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
