Loose manhole cover causes opening practice at Formula One’s Las Vegas Grand Prix to be cut short
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Stewards using a crane to remove the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr due to a drain cover that came off the asphalt and hit the car.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Grand Prix suffered an embarrassing start when the first practice session on the new circuit was abandoned after just nine minutes of racing on Nov 16 due to a loose drain cover.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz had to stop his car after hitting the cover, resulting in a red flag and damage to the front of his vehicle. After some delay, organisers announced that the session would not be resumed.
“Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time,” the International Motoring Federation (FIA) said in a statement.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, clearly angry and using profanity in a news conference, added that there was no chance of Sainz taking part in the second session.
“We damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it’s just unacceptable. It cost us a fortune. We won’t be part of FP2 for sure. I think it’s just unacceptable for F1 today,” he said.
Second practice was able to resume and Sainz received a 10-place grid drop for the main race, after his team were forced to make repairs to his Ferrari.
A host of power unit components had to be changed in order for the Spaniard to take part in the second session.
But with Sainz using his third energy store of the season, one more than is allowed by regulations, he was handed the penalty.
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff, meanwhile, reacted with fury to a question about whether the incident was a “black eye” for the sport’s organisers.
“That is not a black eye, this is nothing. They are going to seal the rain covers and nobody is going to talk about that tomorrow morning,” he said.
“How can you even dare trying to talk bad about an event that sets new standards in everything. You are talking about a drain cover that has been undone, that has happened before and is nothing.”
Esteban Ocon’s Alpine also suffered damage and the team were forced to change the chassis on his car.
A similar incident occurred at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix where George Russell, then racing for Williams, had his car hit by a loose manhole cover and the first practice session was cancelled.
The accident will further back Max Verstappen’s claim that the Las Vegas Grand Prix, back after more than four decades, is just “99 per cent show and 1 per cent sporting event”.
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, however, has defended the organisers after criticism from the Red Bull driver, who won his third straight world title this season.
Other drivers including McLaren’s Lando Norris and Sainz had also questioned the amount of commercial commitments that drivers have had to undertake around the race.
But Hamilton said that the growth of the sport in the United States was a welcome development and praised the sport’s owners Liberty Media and Formula One chief Stefano Domenicali.
“I hear there are a lot of people complaining about the direction that Stefano and Liberty have gone. But they are doing an amazing job,” said the Mercedes driver.
“You will still see good racing here.” AFP, REUTERS
