WATCH Las Vegas GP: Carlos Sainz taken out by manhole cover, session suspended

Formula 1 hyped up the Las Vegas GP for so many months. And it all came crashing down within the first 10 minutes. Carlos Sainz was on his way when a loose manhole cover obliterated the floor of his Ferrari. As a result, his F1 car came to a halt on the track, pausing the session. After a while, Formula 1 suspended the session altogether. Fred Vasseur was livid with the track organizers.

Carlos Sainz hitting a “massive” bump. What the actual fuck is going on? @F1 #CarlosSainz #sainz #LasVegasGP #F1 #Formula1 #FP1 #ferrari pic.twitter.com/VJaCdYmw1r

— lorenzo (@lorenzoobernal) November 17, 2023

A Loose Manhole Cover

Every manhole cover has a concrete covering on Formula 1 street tracks. The Las Vegas GP is no different. But when Carlos Sainz was driving over it, the manhole cover failed and obliterated the floor of his Ferrari.

A Livid Team Principal

This incident at the Las Vegas GP didn’t just destroy Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, it also put his life at risk. Reporters met an angry Fred Vasseur in the media, as reported by WTF1. At that moment, Fred Vasseur was livid because he thought Carlos Sainz wouldn’t be able to take part in FP2.

Speaking at the LV GP, he said, “The situation is that we damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it’s just unacceptable. I’m not sure this is the topic for me today. We had a very tough FP1. It cost us a fortune. We f****d up the session for Carlos. We won’t be part of FP2, for sure.”

After this altercation, Fred Vasseur didn’t want any more questions for the Las Vegas GP. He said, “Can I leave now? Ask something to Toto.”

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A Farcical Penalty

The Las Vegas GP Weekend turned from bad to worse for Ferrari. Because Ferrari used new Power Unit components, the Formula 1 stewards gave Carlos Sainz a grid drop. We can only imagine Fred Vasseur’s reaction to the situation.

🚨 BREAKING: Carlos Sainz WILL have to serve a penalty after having replaced multiple components. #F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/QZ8XW3Byt3

— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) November 17, 2023

Also Read: Max Verstappen lambasts Las Vegas GP, claims ‘99% show, 1% sporting event’

Carlos Sainz in FP2

Formula 1 delayed the beginning of FP2 at the Las Vegas GP to check all the other manholes. This gave ample time to Ferrari to fix the car.

Their statement said, “We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time – we will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.”