The first race at the new city circuit in Las Vegas may not have disappointed, as it followed a rather interesting scenario, and we saw an interesting battle, but the start of the weekend, which many were very much looking forward to, turned out to be out of focus, and that is to put it mildly.
Fans, who paid dearly even by Formula 1 standards for the opportunity to attend the first practice sessions in Las Vegas, essentially saw little as the first session, held late on Thursday evening, ended after four laps, leaving a very long pause, and then the audience was asked to leave the stands, and we talked about it.
Naturally, the spectators were offended with the best feelings, especially since the organizers of the race did not even consider it necessary to apologize to them and would not return the money, but only offered vouchers for the purchase of souvenirs.
As AFP reports, fans in Nevada have prepared and already filed a class action lawsuit against Liberty Media through local law firms Dimopoulos Law Firm and JK Legal & Consulting. According to other sources, the total number of claimants is about 35 thousand, and each of them demands compensation of $ 30 thousand, so the total amount of the claim looks impressive.
The lawsuit names Liberty Media Corporation and TAB Contractors, Inc. named as defendants, for breach of contract, negligence and unfair competition.
“We are protecting the rights of fans because they traveled long distances and paid money for tickets but did not get what they expected,” Steve Dimopoulos, owner and leading specialist of the Dimopoulos law firm, said in an interview with Reuters. – There are a number of problems with the proposed compensation. Clearly, a $200 voucher is not enough compensation.
Many fans probably don’t want this at all; they demand their money back. But there are even more questions: What about the people who came from far away and spent enormous amounts of money on plane tickets and hotel rooms?
It can be expected that this is just the beginning and that the first lawsuit will be followed by others, including those related to the inevitable inconvenience that Formula 1 causes to Las Vegas residents and local businesses.
For example, this is what Wade Bohn, the owner of a 24-hour supermarket, who lost a significant portion of his customers because the path to his supermarket was blocked during the construction of the track and the race, said on CBS: “We are here. ” Formula 1 is not necessary. I’ve lost about 80% of my income and now we’re on our own and we’re just going under.”
Another local, Jeff Toko, expressed his displeasure more mildly: “Let’s hope Formula 1 learns a lesson from what happened in this first year and can improve a lot for next year, and then everything will go more smoothly.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
