Hamilton keen to "respect locals" in Las Vegas as Liberty Media apologise
F1 News
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has apologised to the residents of Las Vegas for the many challenges they have had to endure while preparing the Grand Prix in the gambling city. Among others, according to Lewis Hamilton, many residents of the US city complained about the upcoming F1 weekend.
Hamilton: 'Residents complain about F1 weekend'
This coming weekend marks the first Grand Prix in Las Vegas since 1982. A lot had to happen to get another race in the gambling city, and the people around Las Vegas were not happy about it, according to Hamilton.
"I've heard a lot of complaints about the event being here from the locals. I think we have to be respectful of the locals here. So many people here working so hard. We've got to make sure [of that]. There's a lot of money and wealth in this city and also the places we go and in this industry. So we've got to make sure that people are taken care of. We can't be a circus that shows up that's all glitz and glamour and people are affected negatively by it, in my opinion. I think those guys are working [on it]," Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Liberty Media apologises
Liberty Media, the parent company behind Formula 1, has now also apologised to the locals. The company's CEO did so to Fox5 Vegas. "I want to apologize to all the Las Vegas residents, and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us," Maffei began.
"We’re going to bring something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area. So it’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view. We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas. We hope this is the most difficult year with all the construction that went on and things will be easier in the future.”