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Bubba Wallace Fires Shots at F1 Vegas Debacle; William Byron Joins In With Veiled Sarcastic Remark

Published 11/17/2023, 5:51 AM EST

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The recent reports surfacing from Las Vegas have shaken up the racing world. With the highly anticipated Formula 1 race at Las Vegas inching closer, a debacle over the feasibility and practicality of the track has come up. NASCAR drivers Bubba Wallace and William Byron have not shied away from expressing their disappointment over the issue either.

Racecar drivers and fans worldwide have questioned the intentions of the FIA after allegations of a forced inspection have arisen. The Las Vegas Grand Prix’s first practice session was scheduled to go underway today. However, the authorities felt the need to cancel the practice session due to last-second changes and incomplete track inspection.

Las Vegas GP falls in jeopardy as Bubba Wallace shouts foul

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The FIA has set the regulation for tracks to have a complete inspection a day before the race. Following a late closure of traffic into the street course, officials have yet to have the chance to do the needful. However, from this, another situation has surfaced, which is the presence of bumps on the track.

The FP1 session had to be suspended so that race authorities could thoroughly inspect the track and assess the apparent manholes, which are yet to be addressed. After Carlos Sainz hit a loose cover and stopped mid-race in his Ferrari, officials decided to call the session off. Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu have been hit the hardest among other cars that have suffered from significant damage.

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23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace couldn’t hold back his disappointment at the turn of events. He tweeted his frustration by replying to a tweet from Jordan Bianchi, where the journalist had called the start of the GP weekend ‘auspicious’.

Wallace wrote, “Bro…auspicious?!?? That word is more out there than some of the sh*t you wear”

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner also revealed his anguish to Sky Sports following Sainz’s crash, saying, It’s a shame that we’re not on-track running at the moment.”

“Obviously, there’s been a problem, I think the frame around the manhole or the post that’s there, that seems to be what’s given way, so they’ll need to check all of the others and probably weld them or do something just to ensure from a safety point of view, because you can see the damage that’s been done to the Ferrari.”

A mistake this big at an event of such importance just seems like major mismanagement from the FIA.

William Byron throws a subtle dig at Formula 1

NASCAR inaugurated its first-ever street road course race in Chicago earlier this year. The race was a huge hit among the fans despite being affected by inclement weather. Debutant and 3-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen winning it made it even more special on what was a historic day for NASCAR.

Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron’s latest tweet might have hinted at a comparison between the conduction of the two events and how cautious NASCAR has been in its approach. While FIA has had former experience with street races in Monaco, Singapore, Melbourne, Montreal, and Sochi, the inability to have a great race in the Las Vegas GP has been frustrating.

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While NASCAR has had its share of inspection faults, it seems Byron has drawn comparisons between Chicago and Las Vegas to show that NASCAR might have one up on Formula 1 here.

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Fans of both forms of racing have voiced their opinions in the comment section. While some F1 fans have tried dismantling Byron’s claim and responded in kind, NASCAR fans have stood behind the 25-year-old speedster.

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Written by:

Ansuman Abhisek

850Articles

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I instantly fell in love with the sport as I witnessed the cars' breakneck speeds and the robust nature of the sport and its drivers. As I had a deep-rooted interest in automobiles, the sport naturally piqued my interest in a jiffy. Kyle Busch and his cutthroat style of racing played an important role in getting me hooked to stock car racing as I hopped on streams to watch him win races.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh