Max Verstappen slams F1 fans ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula 1 returns to Las Vegas for the first time since 1982 this weekend, though the world champion of the sport is far from impressed.

Max Verstappen may have already wrapped up the driver's world championship a number of races ago, but the show does still go on until the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

This weekend sees the drivers race around the Las Vegas strip, something that has been advertised as a spectacle by the event's organizers.

However, Verstappen has voiced his concerns about the event as a whole, labelling the grand prix as '99 percent show and 1 percent sport' following the grand opening ceremony on Wednesday where the Red Bull driver said he felt like a 'clown'.

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Speaking to press, Verstappen said: "I think if you would actually put more time into the actual sport and what we are actually trying to achieve here.

"Because as a little kid we [drivers] grew up to be a world champion. If the sport would put more focus onto these kinds of things and also what a team is doing, what they are achieving and what they are working for, then these kinds of things are way more important to look at than having all these random shows all over the place."

The criticism doesn't stop there from the three-time world champion, slamming some F1 fans and the Las Vegas track after qualifying on Friday.

"I understand that fans maybe need something to do as well around a track, but I think it's more important that you make them understand what we do as a sport," Verstappen said.

"Most of them just come to have a party, drink, see a DJ play or a performance act - I mean I can do that all over the world, I can go to Ibiza and get completely s***faced, you know?"

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The first practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was canceled earlier on in the weekend, in what was an embarrassing situation for Formula 1 bosses.

It came after Alpine's Esteban Ocon smashed into a drain cover, subsequently making it unsafe for drivers to take to the track.

An FIA spokesperson said: “Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time.

“We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.”