Carlos Sainz was seen letting sparks fly, but, not for good reasons as the Spaniard soon found himself out of the FP1 session at the Las Vegas GP. The in-form Ferrari star was forced to give up on his first-ever outing in Vegas because of a mere drain lid. And by the looks of it, he is very much out of contention for the rest of Friday as well.
The entire city of Vegas went under construction earlier this year and managed to churn out the finished product in just 12 months. However, despite acing with the timings, the track has started giving the drivers a few issues as they start their weekend in Vegas.
The team prepared for this very race weekend for a long time. Las Vegas also had its opening ceremony where fans got a chance to see the drivers being lifted on podiums. The night ended with many artists performing for the fans and the opening celebrations ending with a blast. However, many were not prepared for the mishaps that were waiting.
The moment Carlos ripped the cover out pic.twitter.com/Ei7bjapdOb
— Nikhil Mistry (@nikhil02mistry) November 17, 2023
During the practice, Carlos Sainz dragged a drain lid with him causing sparks to fly off from the back of his car. The drain lid dragged with the car and had to be taken care of because of the huge hole that it left in the middle of the track.
Before the opening ceremony, the FIA race director checked the Strip circuit and concluded that the track was not ready in many areas. The Tuesday inspection declared that the track was not prepared and the inspection was shifted to Wednesday. However, the issues continued to stand in the way.
FIA race director declares the Las Vegas GP to not take place
As the free practice saw a rather deadly end to the session with Carlos Sainz dragging the drain lid, the issues with the track started coming up. Although the Las Vegas GP was one of the most anticipated, the event has turned into a disaster in no time.
After a great opening ceremony to the weekend, the team finally faced the many issues on the track. The sparks that flew from behind Sainz’s car would also need a thorough check. And while the hotels and casinos prepared for the weekend, the track was not as prepared as one may have thought.
Las Vegas saw the pitlane building constructions done in 12 months. However, the track was what caused the issue. As the inspection of the track took place on Tuesday, it failed to get a green light and was shifted to Wednesday. Christian Nimmervoll talked about the track walk saying,
Nimmervoll: “Strictly speaking – yes, that’s a bit picky – at the time of the grand opening ceremony it wasn’t even clear that the Grand Prix could even take place.”https://t.co/wBvTAwTp6l
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 17, 2023
“It starts with the track inspection. FIA race director Niels Wittich should actually have given the green light on Tuesday, but when he walked around the track with his team, it wasn’t finished in many places or rather not in a condition that would have allowed Wittich to give the green light for the Grand Prix with a clear conscience.”
Wittich, the FIA Race Director commented on the issue saying, “Strictly speaking – yes, that’s a bit picky – at the time of the grand opening ceremony it wasn’t even clear that the Grand Prix could even take place.”
Nonetheless, the inspection ended with the track getting a green light for the sessions. Nonetheless, with the recent events involving Sainz and Ferrari, the track will need further inspection.
