Protestors take action following controversial pre-Las Vegas Grand Prix move

Las Vegas residents and visitors made it very clear that they weren’t particularly happy with some pre-race preparations around the track.

Formula 1 rolls into the city of Las Vegas in Nevada for the third and final Grand Prix held in the United States this season, with the event in Las Vegas highly anticipated as an event entirely put together by US owners Liberty Media as a spectator spectacular.

However, not everyone is as enamoured with the idea of the race and some of the pre-race logistics preparations have been torn apart by visitors and residents as a display of indignation.

Las Vegas residents tear down bridge visibility film

In a bid to prevent fans from getting a birds-eye view of the circuit from nearby overhead bridges, privacy films had been applied to the glass of the structures – ensuring people on the bridges from getting a view of the Las Vegas skyline.

This included blocking off views of the roads used as part of the track layout, as well as the new iconic Las Vegas Sphere.

As a result of the blockage preventing visibility, the films were quickly torn apart by users of the bridge, with footage of the action going viral on social media.

“The people of Las Vegas have spoken!” was the caption on one such video.

“[They] voiced their protest against the organisers of the Formula One race.

“The organisers had put privacy screen wraps over all the glass bridges to stop locals and tourists from watching the race.

“However, the passers-by were clearly unhappy with this move as it blocked their view of the Sphere.

“Especially when tourists are here for just a few days, they want to get that perfect shot. While some people don’t care to watch the Formula One race, they do want to see the Sphere!”

Las Vegas GP issues statement in response to protestor action

Ensuring a lack of visibility from overhead structures may be considered a deterrent aimed at ensuring no one gets a ‘free view’ of the race track, but it’s equally important to note blocking visibility from such vantage points is also a safety concern required for circuit homologation in order to ensure gatherings of people doesn’t occur in higher-risk areas, such as narrow bridges.

PlanetF1.com understands visibility film will be re-added to the pedestrian bridges ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the film being added to the outside to prevent further vandalism, while ‘scrims’ will also be added to the bridges to prevent anything from being thrown onto the race track.

Safety scrims and barriers are added to pedestrian bridges at all F1 tracks, including when bridges are within the footprint of the circuit, and will be used only by ticketed visitors.

“Safety both on and off the track is always the number one priority at every Formula 1 race, ” a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Grand Prix told PlanetF1.com.

“We worked with the local emergency response officials to develop a safety plan for the pedestrian bridges that cross the race circuit.

“That plan is intended to allow a constant flow of foot traffic and ensure the drivers are safe from objects from above and pedestrians are safe on all bridges from any errant track debris. We are confident the safety scrims and barriers, once completely installed and secured, will play an important role in ensuring a safe event for drivers and pedestrians alike.”

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