The Las Vegas GP started off with a lot of excitement surrounding the event and celebrities like Rihanna and more making an appearance for the weekend, however, it all dulled down in a matter of seconds when Carlos Sainz snapped open a drain lid in the middle of the track.
While the race track was supposed to be prepared a week prior to the event, it was not ready nor given the green light during the first inspection. However, with the event coming closer, F1 had no option but to continue and start the sessions for the weekend. Nevertheless, a blind eye was turned to the issues and the lack of communication with the teams caused a disastrous start to the sessions.
The FP1 started off well at first however, only 10 minutes into the event, Carlos Sainz his worst nightmares came to life in his first-ever Las Vegas outing. The driver had accidentally snapped open the drain lid which soon saw him pay the most unfair penalty in F1. It was clear that this was not Sainz’s fault but he was still punished for it.
🚨 | Fred Vasseur says Ferrari lost “a couple of millions in damage” from Sainz’s FP1 crash in Las Vegas.
There will be discussions to write these costs off from the cost cap.
Full quotes below:https://t.co/uj74zI5OlI
— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 19, 2023
However, with the amount of loss that the Ferrari team had to bear, they also had to pay a couple of millions to fix and rebuild the Spaniard’s car for the race. Fred Vasseur reported, “We had a couple of millions of damage. The mechanics worked like hell to come back… so far, it’s included in the budget cap.”
He has also mentioned that he will be asking for reimbursement for the cost that the team had to endure as it was not their fault in the end.
Carlos Sainz claps back at Toto Wolff and Co. with insane race results
Carlos Sainz was thrown back after a horrible accident which clearly was not his fault, however, he was still asked to face a grid penalty for the race. Although the driver tried to fight back and also had Max Verstappen defending the driver at every opportunity.
However, the Mercedes team and the team boss, Toto Wolff spoke against the incident, mentioning that it would be unfair to let Ferrari use a new engine while many teams have been on the same as per the regulations. Although this statement did not sit well with many, Verstappen clapped back at the team boss for his statement.
Nonetheless, it was not enough for Sainz to get his revenge. With so much anger filling his head and the hunger only increasing, the driver gave it his all despite the penalty and finished in front of both the Mercedes drivers and getting the team. P6 alongside his teammate who celebrated a podium.
carlos sainz pre-race interview:
“i want to beat mercedes after what happened this weekend.”
— ً (@forsainz) November 19, 2023
The Spaniard was caught in a pre-race interview saying, “I want to beat Mercedes after what happened this weekend.” And soon he ended up doing exactly that with Lewis Hamilton on P7 and George Russell on P8.
Carlos Sainz beat both Mercedes, today. pic.twitter.com/Hm0Rvu1t3B
— bru, (@sculptsainz) November 19, 2023
After his race, Sainz was not done clapping back, he finished off the weekend saying, “I’m happy to finish the race ahead of those who wanted to penalize me.”
Sainz left the Mercedes team gagged as they experienced a series of unfortunate events themselves yet having Hamilton to thank for managing to finish P7.