At Las Vegas Valley airports, hundreds of private plane parking spaces were full. On and off the vaunted Las Vegas Strip, casino floors, restaurants and theaters were — for a time — empty.
Instead, tens of thousands had taken a trip outdoors Saturday — to seats in the grandstands and luxury boxes and repeat rides on pedestrian bridge escalators alike — to catch a glimpse of Formula One.
It was the culmination of a rocky weekend of on-track action beset early on by teething problems. Thursday’s first practice session — the first time any current-spec Formula One car would put rubber to Las Vegas’ roads — lasted just nine minutes before a loose drain cover derailed the day.
