Formula One’s gamble to bring the sport back to Las Vegas backfired on a shambolic opening night in Sin City. After months of build-up to an event – billed by F1 executives as the greatest show on earth – practice was abandoned after just eight minutes. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the key questions surrounding the farcical opening to this weekend’s maiden race on the Las Vegas strip. What happened? As Carlos Sainz approached 200mph on the Las Vegas Boulevard, a water valve cover broke free from the tarmac and tore into the underbelly of his Ferrari. The force of the impact visibly jolted Sainz in the cockpit and, amid a flurry of white smoke and orange sparks, disabled his machine. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the session, but not before Esteban Ocon also struck the debris. The one-hour running, which began at 8:30pm local time was suspended at 8:38pm. At 8:49pm it was announced it would not be resumed. Were the drivers hurt? Both Sainz and Ocon escaped without injury – but their cars were severely damaged. A giant whole tore through Sainz’s Ferrari leaving his mechanics facing an extensive repair job. Ocon required a new chassis, but he was able to take part in second practice. How did the FIA respond? All 30 manhole covers along the 1.2-mile 210mph Las Vegas Boulevard were inspected. The covers were removed, and the holes filled with concrete and quick-drying resin. The FIA’s standard procedure is to seal or weld the manholes but that process failed in Las Vegas. Second practice had originally been scheduled to start at midnight local time. But it was pushed back to 2am, and then 2:15am before the cars eventually rolled out at 2:30am in front of empty grandstands, with fan areas closed at 1.30am. A two-hour window is required to reopen the public roads at 6am in Sin City, meaning the running had to cease at 4am. Has anything like this happened before? 99 per cent show, and one per cent sport Max Verstappen's assessment of the Las Vegas Grand Prix The problems of loose manhole covers at street venues is not a new one. Jenson Button struck a dislodged drain in practice in Monaco in 2016, while George Russell also ran over a drain cover in Azerbaijan four years ago. But the embarrassing failure in Las Vegas comes 48 hours after a Superbowl-like opening ceremony, and a day after triple world champion Max Verstappen called the staging of the Grand Prix – the first here in four decades and maiden event on the strip – as “99 per cent show, and one per cent sport”. What did they say? A furious Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur labelled the chaos as “unacceptable” following millions of dollars of damage to Sainz’s car. But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff launched a wild and ill-judged defence. “This is not a black eye (for F1),” said Wolff. “This is nothing. We are on a Thursday night – a free practice session that we are not doing – and nobody is going to talk about that tomorrow. “It is completely ridiculous. How can you even dare to talk back about an event that sets the new standard? You are speaking about a f****** drain cover that has been undone. It is nothing!” Read More Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton ‘counting down days’ to end of season after another poor race Max Verstappen thwarts Lando Norris’ bid for first F1 win with sprint victory On this day in 2015: Susie Wolff ends her bid to get on an F1 starting grid Lando Norris ‘gutted’ to miss out on Brazilian GP pole after McLaren blunder

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A fan has been banned from Formula 1 races for life after attacking two Ferrari supporters during the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday. The scrap in the stands followed Sergio Perez having to retire from his home race in front of a gutted Mexican crowd. The Red Bull driver collided with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on lap one of the race, spinning off track and sustaining irreparable damage to the floor of his car. Later, footage emerged online of fighting in the Foro Sol Stadium grandstand, with one spectator throwing punches at two fans dressed in red, the colours of Ferrari. The spectator was then put into a chokehold by another fan, before being ejected from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit by security. F1 later stated that the fan has been given a ban for life. Leclerc, who finished third in a race won by Max Verstappen, was jeered by the Mexican crowd after the grand prix. “A lot of booing!” said a surprised Leclerc, after his tough reception. “Guys, honestly I had nowhere to go! Unfortunately, I touched Checo, I had nowhere to go. “It ended the race of Checo. It’s life, I’m disappointed to end the race of Checo, I honestly had nowhere to go!” Perez did not blame the Monegasque driver for the incident. “I had a tremendous start, the gap was there,” said Perez. “I had the chance to take the lead, I went for it - I wasn’t expecting Charles to be in the middle and to brake that late. There was simply no room for three cars, it was a racing incident. “Especially [being] at your home grand prix and two times on the podium, I wanted to give it all – and totally went for it. It’s really sad but I’m extremely proud of myself and the team. We had the best start of the year, we just went for it. “Our pace is there, we knew what was wrong. The results will come, I’m not concerned about it - I’m more sad with the end result.” Read More Sergio Perez lasts just 14 seconds in home race as Max Verstappen wins in Mexico ‘A lot of booing!’ Charles Leclerc reacts after jeers from Mexican fans Kevin Magnussen’s car catches fire after high-speed crash in Mexico F1 Mexican Grand Prix LIVE: Race results and reaction in Mexico City Charles Leclerc leads shock Ferrari front row at Mexican Grand Prix Who is Ollie Bearman? Essex boy with Italian twang making F1 history

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