Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz slams F1 after receiving Las Vegas GP grid penalty

Carlos Sainz has been withdrawn from Formula One after receiving a 10th-place penalty from the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday following a spill incident.

In FP1 on Thursday night, Sainz crashed into a loose drain plug on the circuit, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari.
The changes the team had to make included moving the energy storage unit, which led to Sainz accepting a permitted separation, lowering the race grid.

After an incredible qualifying session, Sainz entered the Las Vegas GP in 12th place, 0.044 seconds behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Sainz was fined for the drain plug.

Stewarts said he would not have done so had he been given the chance under the rules, but Sainz could not hide his disbelief and disappointment at the penalty awarded.

“This speaks for itself,” Sainz told the media. “There were obvious safety issues with the chain, which destroyed my car.
“My colleagues have to spend five hours building a new car and we get penalized 10 stone for something unrelated.

Carlos Sainz enters 2023 Las Vegas GP free practice round 14 | ferrari spa

“I’m also not surprised because I think this year has shown that the sport can do much better.
“It is clearly completely out of the control of the team and the driver, but I am surprised that the governing body does not have the authority to rule out situations like this where they do not know the rules.
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“In these circumstances, many expectations have been placed on the sport. But for some reason, the other team will ask me to take a penalty kick, and in a way, it’s surprising.

“I’ve been in this sport so long I don’t understand it’s a business and there’s so much money in the last position that teams don’t want to threaten to fine me. “Like I said, I’m not surprised, I’m very disappointed. Honestly, I’m upset about the whole situation involving sports.
“I’m angry and I feel bad because I expected a lot from the sport in this situation,” he said.