Carlos Sainz crashed into a drain cover and will have a grid penalty in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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It was during the first practice session, after just eight minutes, that he hit a loose manhole cover on the long straight before the last corner. The impact damaged the power unit, the chassis and the survival cell. A video captured by fans showed the moment he collided with the object, with lots of sparks coming out of the car.
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A red flag was called, but Alpine driver Esteban Ocon also ran over the same loose manhole cover, as he was on his way back into the pit lane. Formula 1 governing body FIA decided to call off the session, and practice two was delayed after they confirmed “the concrete frame around a manhole cover failed”.
Jo Bauer, FIA technical delegate, referred Sainz and Ocon to the stewards as a result of significant chances in their cars, due to the “impact with a foreign object”. Sainz will face a penalty of 10 grid positions for replacing the damaged parts of his car, as the internal combustion engine is limited to up to four changes a year, and the battery pack for two. With the damages caused in the collision, they changed the fifth combustion engine and the third battery and power pack on Sainz car.
Ferrari requested an “exception” from FIA, given the nature of the incident that resulted in the changes, but the request was denied. In a statement, FIA declared that they viewed the video evidence, and examined Ferrari’s declaration, but “Article 2. 1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations obliges all officials, including the Stewards, to apply the regulations as they are written”.
“Accordingly, the mandatory penalty specified under Article 28.3 of the Sporting Regulations must be applied. The stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action,” the FIA said in a statement.