Sergio Perez 'Very Sorry For The Fans' Ejected From The Las Vegas Strip Circuit

Saturday, 18 November 2023 at 07:00

Sergio Perez said he was very sorry for the fans who were ejected from the grandstands after FP1 and could not watch FP2.

Free practice session one saw an early end after Carlos Sainz's incident caused by a loose manhole cover. The organizers realized the track needed to be reexamined, and therefore, the session was canceled.

Free Practice Session Two was postponed by two and a half hours while all manhole covers on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit had to be ceiled. What also happened was that fan areas got closed due to "logistical considerations."

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This upset multiple fans, some of whom could find time only for the practice sessions and already paid for the tickets. Red Bull's F1 driver Sergio Perez told the media:

"I’m very sorry for the fans that this happened. I’m sure that we’re going to be able to put on a nice race weekend."

Concerning the track itself and his experience driving it, the Mexcian driver suggested the grip levels might present a challenge in Qualification and the race on Saturday.

"Overall it’s a challenging place, the grip level is quite low so it’s just coming up, which makes things a lot more challenging."

Fernando Alonso also mentioned something similar after the FP2 session when he told the media the grip in some of the breaking zones can be a bit random.

Ferrari is one of the main threats to the Red Bull this weekend. It would not be unexpected to see Leclerc snatch yet another pole position this season.

However, Perez seems confident in his team's progress over the weekend and believes Red Bull will be competing for the race win.

"I think we were making good progress, which was a good thing in my opinion. [I'm] fairly happy with that. Ferrari is looking very strong, not just on the pace - when you look at the footage, the onboards, they look like they are able to find something. But come race day I think we’re going to be there."