Carlos Sainz has expressed his displeasure with the grid penalty he received at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which he blamed on factors beyond his and Ferrari’s control.
The first practice session at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit was cut short after Sainz’s Ferrari collided with a drain cover, causing havoc underneath the car.
While the damage was not caused by Sainz or Ferrari, their problems were exacerbated when the following rebuilding of the SF-23 resulted in a 10-place grid penalty.
“It was such a disastrous weekend for me and the team and we lost such a good opportunity there to score big points and fight for a win that I haven’t fought [for] since Singapore,” Sainz said in an interview with PlanetF1.
“It was a very frustrating feeling.” I’ve never been so irritated as a racing driver, or so angry with the sport, as I was in Vegas.”
“I’m still angry about what happened and it affected my championship and Ferrari’s championship,” Sainz said at the time. “But even if you file a protest, you never win, so there you have it, the way F1 treated me and Ferrari, I don’t see a solution.”
“Perhaps the season would have ended sooner if that breakage had not occurred.”
