The Las Vegas Formula 1 Grand Prix has not started on the right foot. The cover of a poorly sealed manhole destroyed Carlos Sainz’s car and forced the cancellation of the first free practice session. The Spanish driver was unharmed, but his car had to be towed and he was seriously affected. “We have completely damaged the monohull, the engine, the battery, etc. We ruined Carlos Sainz’s session and it cost us a fortune. We will not run Free Practice 2. This is unacceptable for Formula 1,” lamented Frédéric Vasseur, head of Ferrari. Although the Spaniard’s car would end up being able to participate in the second session.
The first free practice sessions were canceled when less than half an hour of testing had taken place on the Las Vegas track. Sainz was traveling on a straight line when he went over a poorly sealed manhole cover. His car bounced and a loud sound could be heard on television on impact before the vehicle stopped.
The FIA ??canceled the session to review the rest of the layout and confirmed that the accident had occurred due to a culvert: “Following an inspection by the FIA, it was found that the concrete frame around a culvert has failed during the first session of free practice,” explained the FIA ??on social media, which also reported that it was reviewing all similar coverage before resuming training.
After several hours, finally the free seconds of the Las Vegas GP were rescheduled for 11 in the morning (Spanish time), two in the morning in Las Vegas, with a duration of 90 minutes, although they ended up starting with half an hour of delay and without public in the stands since the FIA ??closed the stands to the public for “logistical” reasons and called on them to return to the circuit tomorrow.
The second training session was not going to feature, a priori, Carlos Sainz, as Vasseur announced due to the damage to his car. Alpine also announced that it would change its chassis to the car of Frenchman Esteban Ocon due to the damage suffered, presumably also by a cover on the American circuit. But the Ferrari mechanics worked against the clock and managed to get the car ready to participate in the second free practice. Of course, the Italian team did not manage to avoid the FIA ??sanction for changing the battery in Sainz’s car, although it was due to the impact of a sewer due to the poor condition of the track.
The Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is ??scheduled to be held this Saturday starting at ten at night, local time, seven in the morning in Spain. This unfortunate and worrying incident clouded the start of this Grand Prix in Las Vegas, which debuts on the Formula One calendar and which appeared as one of the highlights of the 2023 season.
