The Las Vegas GP started extremely poorly for Carlos Sainz as he was given a grid penalty for damaging his car through no fault of his own. Now, as per a recent report by GPBlog.com, one of the stewards responsible for the penalty admitted that it was wrong but they were forced to go ahead with their decision.
Derek Warwick – one of the stewards involved in the controversial decision, recently attended the Autosport Awards and spoke about the penalty that they gave to Carlos Sainz. He said, “The penalty we had to give Sainz in Vegas, it felt wrong. It was wrong, we worked very hard for it not to happen. But they’re the rules.”
| It felt wrong to penalise Carlos Sainz in Vegas, says FIA Steward Derek Warwick:
“It felt wrong, it was wrong.
“We worked very hard for it not to happen – but they’re the rules.”
[@Reuters] pic.twitter.com/KBum1dCSoy
— formularacers (@formularacers_) December 5, 2023
He added, “It’s a difficult job for a steward. The same as a referee, and we’ve got to be impartial. We’ve got to be strict and we’ve got to be hard sometimes even when it hurts us.” Warwick admitted that the situation did not call for a penalty, but they were bound by the rulebook.
Sainz’s car was damaged at the very start of FP1 when a loose manhole cover was dislodged and it hit the floor of the SF23. The session was immediately red-flagged, and FP2 was delayed as a result of the track-wide checks that were going on.
As for Carlos Sainz, the damage meant that he had to replace some parts of his power unit, which caused him to get a grid penalty. The decision was controversial because Sainz hadn’t done anything to deserve the penalty.
Carlos Sainz losing out on precious points harmed Ferrari’s charge to P2
Team principal Fred Vasseur was furious with the whole situation. The team had to suffer, since replacing the engine meant they were spending money, that is a part of their budget cap.
Las Vegas F1 Practice session 1 was stopped after Carlos Sainz of Team Ferrari hit what appears to be some type of manhole cover that surfaced during practice. The impact did serious damage to Sainz’ car and had stewards looking over the damage. #Formula1 #LasVegasGrandPrix pic.twitter.com/Bfz41HPEsb
— Gerald Contreras (@gerald605) November 17, 2023
Additionally, the penalty meant that Carlos Sainz had to start the race from P12, despite claiming P2 in the qualifying session. While he did manage to make his way through the field and claim P6, things could have gone much better.
These lost points turned out to be crucial for the team as they lost out on P2 in the constructor’s standings to Mercedes by a mere 3-point difference. A good result in Las Vegas for Sainz might have helped Ferrari claim P2.
