How a loose water valve cover could cost Formula 1 over a billion dollars

Watch out for the road bumps! Formula 1 has been heavily criticized following the disastrous Las Vegas GP, a major letdown for fans and drivers and a loose water valve cover is the reason behind the scandal!

Carlos Sainz's Ferrari took a beating after running over the displaced valvebox cover during the first couple of laps of the GP. His SF23 was retired to the pitlane due to the sustained damage to the car's floor. The engineers took five hours and it cost one million euros to fix the red and white speed demon!

To make matters worse, the Spanish driver was sanctioned by FIA, dropping him 10 places on the grid. Sainz finished 2nd during the qualifiers, then was pushed back to 12th place.

The FIA figured everything would blow over with time, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, the FIA is now facing a billion-dollar lawsuit, as fans filed a collective complaint following the unprecedented treatment during the GP weekend.

This incident took place when only 9 minutes of free time had been played and its repair brought the clock to 02:30 hours, which meant that the 35,000 fans who packed the stands had to be evacuated for security reasons.

The incident occurred only 9 minutes into the GP weekend, which was followed by an almost three-hour suspension. Around 35,000 fans were forced to evacuate for security reasons.

To compensate for the bad experience, the organization handed out a $200 voucher at the circuit store for those who had tickets for that day only.

A few days later, the Dimopoulos law firm has managed to unite all these fans, filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the 35,000 spectators who felt harmed that night.

The firm requests 30,000 euros in compensation for each viewer, which would imply a total of 1,050 million – or 1 billion – dollars in compensation.

That is a lot of money? Yes, but it is also true that according to specialized media, the event in Las Vegas would have brought more than that in revenue for Formula 1!

In the lawsuit, the firm alleges that the sewer problem was not of the public's, but of the organization's, and they claim "breach of contract, negligence and deceptive business practices" for not ensuring that everything was in good condition.

It should be noted that the spectators had paid up to $1,000 for what were 9 minutes of training, to which "damages for mental anguish" were added, as specified in the lawsuit.

The FIA has come out with a statement, revindicating their commitment to track safety and over-event security. However, the scene in Vegas reflects the complete opposite. A historic trial awaits...