(Motorsports news) Three hours later than planned, track action at Las Vegas concluded at 4 a.m. local time on Friday. The delay was brought on by the necessity of checking and securing all of the water valve covers surrounding the track. This came after F1 was halted due to damage to the undercarriage of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s car caused by a high-speed collision with a cover that was ripped off by Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.

Thanking drivers and F1 teams for their patience, Domenicali and Wilm emphasized that the decision to continue and run FP2 “was supported by all parties to ensure the sporting integrity of the remainder of the event.” In response to the contentious issue of spectators being removed from the venue an hour before the postponed FP2 session finally began, they verified that staffing concerns—primarily pertaining to the hours that security and transportation workers were legally permitted to remain on duty—were the cause.

They claim that has been taken care of tonight in case qualifying goes past its 1 a.m. PT deadline. “Our employees and our fans were put at risk due to the postponement of the start of the second free practice session from midnight to 2.30am,” the statement read. “At 1:30 am, we decided to close the fan zones that fall under the jurisdiction of Las Vegas GP and send the spectators home.

Let’s discuss why. First and foremost, we were worried about our long-serving public safety and security personnel, who would now have to work three nights a week. “Secondly, we were worried about our transportation staff members who are in charge of returning our fans to their hotels. They were approaching the maximum amount of time allowed by federal law to operate busses in a safe and lawful manner.

Lastly, in order to make sure that everyone had the best possible fan experience over the next several days, our hospitality crew needed to be able to clean and replenish our guest areas. We acknowledge that this was a letdown. With this explanation, we hope that our F1 supporters will appreciate that there were a lot of interests to consider, including everyone’s safety and security as well as the overall race weekend experience for spectators.

“We have all attended events such as sporting events, concerts, and even F1 races that were postponed due to inclement weather or technical difficulties. We hope that people would understand that it happens. “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,” Domenicali and Wilm said in an explanation of the changes made for Friday night.

Domenicali and Wilm also talked about the work that needed to be done to get the track ready for FP2, including filling in the holes left by the water valve cover with sand and asphalt. The session was halted by the FIA, which oversees the safe operation of the circuit, “so that we could look at the broken water valve cover and inspect the track,” they stated. This has occasionally occurred at different courses during races all over the world. As a precaution, all of the track’s water valve covers were removed, and their spaces were then filled with asphalt and sand.

It took around five hours to complete the full process, from identifying the problem to finding a solution. “We always prioritize the safety of F1 fans, officials, drivers, and trackside marshals, thus we decided to take extreme caution when making this remediation. “We appreciate the contractors’ quick thinking and hard work in getting the situation resolved.”

Also read: Wolff: F1’s manhole mishap at the Vegas Grand Prix “not a black eye”