Max Verstappen was one of the few drivers from a rival team who called out the stewards for unfairly penalizing Carlos Sainz for an incident during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend where neither the Spanaird nor his Ferrari team were at fault. Karun Chandhok has now also sided with the Dutchman and explained how common sense should have prevailed in the situation.
Taking to X, the F1 expert wrote, “He’s (Verstappen) absolutely right. I understand the rule book needs to be implemented but surely common sense and fairness should have been applied. Such a shame for Carlos Sainz’s weekend to be ruined by something 0% his fault. Angers me that there’s no force majeur option in rules“.
He’s absolutely right…. I understand the rule book needs to be implemented but surely common sense and fairness should have been applied.
Such a shame for @Carlossainz55’s weekend to be ruined by something 0% his fault. Angers me that there’s no force majeur option in rules https://t.co/OMoEouMHoZ
— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) November 18, 2023
Chandhok’s post on X comes after Verstappen explained during the press conference how the FIA have to change the rules to avoid penalizing a driver when they or their team are not at fault. The controversy began after Sainz’s SF-23 hit one of the water valves of the Las Vegas GP street circuit.
As a result of the impact, three separate elements of the Ferrari’s hybrid power unit were damaged. Since Ferrari changed all the parts for Sainz’s car, the Spaniard will now have to serve a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the permissible amounts of parts used in a season.
The stewards too acknowledged that Sainz was not at fault for the damage that was caused to his Ferrari. However, they made it clear that they could not go against the rules.
Why did Carlos Sainz’s incident create such massive controversy?
Since Carlos Sainz received such an unfair penalty, several called out the stewards for the same. However, the stewards via a statement noted that they are helpless in such a situation.
As quoted by the-race.com, the stewards’ statement read, “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“.
However, the controversy was much more than simply the penalty. F1 was called out for their negligence after the mishap could have also endangered Sainz. When Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was asked about whether this incident was a “black eye” for the sport, he completely dismissed the same.
As quoted by Autosport, the Austrian said, “That is not a black eye, this is nothing“. Wolff’s frustrations did not end there as he also added, “It’s completely ridiculous. How can you even dare trying to talk bad about an event that sets the new standards to everything?”
The primary reason why questions have been asked of F1 is simply because the sport invested a whopping $500,000,000 for the Grand Prix to take place in Las Vegas. Since many deemed that the race will set new standards, they are unhappy with what has transpired so far.
