F1 News: Carlos Sainz Responds To Las Vegas GP Penalty After Significant Drain Hole Damage

Carlos Sainz faces a challenging Las Vegas Grand Prix after a drain cover incident leads to a significant penalty, despite Ferrari's appeal to the FIA stewards.

Carlos Sainz has been handed a ten-place grid penalty for the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix following an incident involving drain hole cover damage. Sainz expressed his frustration over the penalty on social media, claiming the situation is "unacceptable".

Key Takeaways:

• Incident Overview: During the first practice session at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Sainz's car was damaged after hitting a drain cover. The impact caused significant harm to his engine, Energy Store, Control Electronics, and survival cell.
• Resulting Penalty: As a consequence of exceeding the season's limit on Energy Stores, Sainz has been issued a 10-place grid penalty for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. This decision was confirmed by the FIA before the start of the second practice session.

In a detailed statement, the Ferrari team revealed the extent of the damage to Carlos Sainz's car following an unusual incident during the first practice session at the new Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Sainz, after striking a loose drain cover, suffered considerable damage to critical components of his SF23, forcing the team to undertake extensive repairs and component replacements.

Ferrari, in an attempt to mitigate the damage to their race weekend, appealed to the FIA stewards for an exemption from the standard penalties associated with such replacements. However, the stewards, after careful consideration and consultation with FIA officials and Ferrari representatives, upheld the Sporting Regulations. In their ruling, they noted:

"The stewards determine that notwithstanding the fact that the damage was caused by highly unusual external circumstances, Article 2.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations obliges all officials, including the Stewards, to apply the regulations as they are written.”

Sainz, responding to the decision, took to social media, expressing his discontent yet showing determination to face the challenge ahead. He stated:

"Eventful and long day. We seem competitive and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. However, the situation of the manhole damage and the 10-place penalty is not acceptable, but we’ll deal with it."

🇺🇸Eventful and long day. We seem competitive and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. However, the situation of the manhole damage and the 10-place penalty is not acceptable, but we’ll deal with it.

👉https://t.co/yo0yfS45Mp

-#CarlosSainz pic.twitter.com/ycGPtNiTTi

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) November 17, 2023