STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has refused to apologise for the farcical opening to this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After months of hype leading up to the £500million race, opening practice was abandoned with just eight minutes on the clock on Thursday night.
The second running was delayed by two-and-a-half hours, and then took place in front of vacant grandstands after furious fans were ejected to comply with local employment laws. Practice finished at 4am on Friday morning.
Statement from Renee Wilm, CEO, Las Vegas Grand Prix and Stefano Domenicali, CEO, Formula 1
Read Here: https://t.co/agVKTx4SDN pic.twitter.com/07giWmxiTk
— F1 Las Vegas (@F1LasVegas) November 17, 2023
But in a 650-word joint statement by Domenicali, and CEO of the Las Vegas race, Renee Wilm, the sport’s red-faced bosses stopped short of saying sorry.
“We have all been to events, like concerts, games and even other Formula One races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues,” they said.
“It happens, and we hope people will understand.”
Fans who held a 200 US dollar (£160) general admission ticket for Thursday’s two practice sessions have been offered a voucher for the same amount to be redeemed on merchandise.
But those in attendance on a three-day pass – the cheapest of which is 500 US dollars (£400) – will not receive any compensation.
The statement continued: “We know this was disappointing. We hope our fans will understand that we had to balance many interests, including the safety and security of all participants and the fan experience over the whole race weekend.
“So how will we address this tonight?
“We have worked overnight to adjust our staffing plans across security, transportation and hospitality to ensure that we can function and serve fans with the best possible experience in the event of an extended race schedule.
“We are excited about the racing today and thank our entire team and our fans for their support. We know this is going to be a great event. With that, let’s get back to racing.”
Qualifying for Saturday’s (Sunday 0600GMT) 50-lap race took place at midnight local time (Saturday 0800GMT).
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
