Carlos Sainz “in disbelief” over huge Las Vegas GP penalty caused by F1 failings

Carlos Sainz picked up huge damage to his Ferrari in the short-lived first Las Vegas Grand Prix practice session when he hit a loose manhole cover which led to hours of track improvement works.Carlos Sainz expressed his shock over the 10-place grid penalty which has ruined his Las Vegas Grand Prix hopes.

The Spaniard was unfortunate to hit a manhole cover which became loose just a few minutes into the first practice session on the newly-created street track. It caused extensive damage to his Ferrari and led to the second session of the day being delayed for two-and-a-half hours.

Sadly for Sainz, the effects on his weekend are longer-lasting. His team did a great job to repair the car in time to get it back out on track for FP2, but irreparable damage to several components, including the energy store, meant they needed replacingIt meant he went over his annual limit for that component which comes with an automatic grid drop. Ferrari appealed for special dispensation in this case as the need for the extra energy store had come about through no fault of their ownThe stewards sympathised and pored over the regulations to try to find a loophole they could use to avoid sanctioning Sainz. But, in the end, they were left with no choice other than to slap him with a 10-place grid drop for Sunday’s race.

“Unfortunately, as the session finished, the team communicated to me that I was taking a 10-place grid penalty for something that I have no fault and the team has no fault,” said the Spaniard, reacting to that news.

“Obviously, this has changed completely my mindset and obviously my opinion on the weekend and how the weekend is going to go from now on. You can obviously imagine how disappointed I am, in disbelief with the situation and you will not see me very happy this weekend.”