Liberty Media explains but does not apologize
The first day of the weekend in Las Vegas was a disaster for Liberty Media and Formula 1 in general. The promoter and commercial rights holder were forced to address the events of the day but did not offer any apologies.
When things go wrong, you need to know how to stand your ground. On a disastrous night for its image and with financial stakes at an all-time high, Liberty Media chose the method of explanations but did not want to concede any apologies for the spectacle provided.
And what a spectacle it was. Despite months of promises of “the greatest show on earth” for the return of Formula 1 in Las Vegas, nothing went as planned. Firstly, there was a serious risk to the drivers as the chassis of Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon couldn’t withstand the impact with a manhole cover that was lifted by the aerodynamic pressure generated by the ground-effect F1 cars.
In an emergency, he decided to replace all these potholes and fill them with asphalt. The operation took nearly five hours. But as Liberty Media chose to run the race at completely different hours, it generated administrative problems: the bus drivers had exceeded their maximum number of hours to bring the spectators back to their hotels and the security agents’ contract did not anticipate such long working hours!
“We know it’s disappointing.”
The decision was then made to simply evacuate the entire circuit! When the cars finally hit the track at 2:30 local time, it was in front of completely empty stands, as the thousands of spectators who had spent hundreds of dollars to be there were forced to leave the circuit, pushed towards the exit by the police, who did not have the same time constraints.
Renee Wilm, CEO of Las Vegas Grand Prix (and employee of Liberty Media), and Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1, were then forced to issue a statement to provide explanations: “We understand that this is disappointing. We hope that our fans will understand through our explanations that we had to balance many interests, including the safety of all participants and the fans’ experience throughout the race weekend. We have all attended events, such as concerts, matches, or even other Formula 1 races that have been canceled due to factors like weather or technical issues. It happens, and we hope that people will understand.”
After explaining that measures have been put in place to manage new unexpected events, the two leaders concluded: “We are excited about today’s race. We thank our entire team and the fans for their support. We know it will be a great event. Now let’s get back to the race.” In the language of the Queen, they could have just as easily said: “The show must go on.”
