Las Vegas’ Sphere becomes one of Formula One’s now-infamous manholes… and holes in the road are patched up with a Domino’s sauce pot! The best memes mocking F1’s nightmare start in Sin City

• Fans ripped into Formula One following the chaotic scenes at the Las Vegas GP
• Practice was halted after eight minutes due to a loose manhole cover on track
• Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon suffered damage to their cars in the incident

Fans have relentlessly lampooned F1 for the farcical scenes at the Las Vegas Grand Prix which saw the first practice session cancelled due to a loose manhole cover. 

Formula One’s return to the city for the first time since 1982 descended into chaos after only eight minutes due to the broken drain cover which damaged the cars of drivers Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon.

Race officials released a statement that an inspection by Formula One and FIA determined ‘a single water valve cover…failed.’ They added that F1, FIA and local engineers were working to resolve the problem.

During the delay, which lasted until second practice began at 2:30am local time (10:30 GMT) fans ripped into the unbelievable scenes. 

Many were quick to post the viral pothole-laden road meme on TikTok, with one user on X, formerly Twitter, accompanying the post with the caption: ‘Vegas Friday highlights so far.’

F1 fans ripped into Formuia One after the shambolic scenes during the first practice session

Track marshals and officials tend to the area of the track that saw first practice ended early

Another user opted for an image of the famous Community episode, Remedial Chaos Theory, where a character can be seen walking to a room engulfed in flames and his fellow classmates in disarray having left a blissful scene only moments prior. 

One fan creatively altered the Las Vegas sphere, which had been given a special F1 makeover in the lead up to the Grand Prix weekend. Tourists have seen the now iconic orb transform into anything from the globe to an NBA basketball.

But one user reimagined it as the drainage cover, with the message: ‘Too soon?’

While work was being done on filling the hole that had been left following the incident, another user on X posted an image with a golfing pin and wrote: ‘Hello everyone, F1 has been cancelled so welcome to the Las Vegas Invitational golf tournament.’

It wasn’t just fans poking fun at Formula One on Friday, Pizza giants Dominoes also got in on the act. 

Dominoes posted an image of their garlic and herb dip plugging the gaping hole in the road with the message: ‘Fixed it.’

Dominoes even got in on the act, posting an image of the hole filled with one of their dips

A frustrated Carlos Sainz returns to the pit lane after his car was damaged by the loose cover

The roads were scheduled to be reopened to the public in Vegas around the sessions 

Second practice finally got underway at 2:30 local time (10:30 GMT), leaving officials in a race against time in their bid to get the schedule back on track, with the roads due to reopen to the public at 4am.  

‘We will provide an update on the race schedule as soon as possible,’ a statement had said following the initial incident. ‘During this review period, all tickets, food and beverage and entertainment options will continue to be honored, and we remain focused on providing our patrons with a great experience.’

Despite the reassurance, videos on social media showed rows of empty seats in the stands around the track, with many fans leaving amongst the delays and confusion. 

The FIA later said Sainz hit the concrete frame around a manhole cover and the governing body must now inspect every manhole cover on the course.

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