Ferrari principal Fred Vasseur has blown up over the “simply unacceptable” Las Vegas Grand Prix track disaster that left two cars severely damaged on Friday.
Carlos Sainz was left stranded on the Strip after suffering a massive jolt when he hit a loose metal manhole cover less than 10 minutes into the first practice at the glitzy $500 million event.
While the Ferrari star was luckily able to avoid injury in the ordeal, his team principal was fuming about the horror safety issue.
Watch the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix SUN 19th NOV 5PM AEDT. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >
ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know
DAY ONE LIVE BLOG: Vegas disaster as big ‘track defect’ cans practice after TEN minutes
“We damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it’s just unacceptable,” he said.
“This is costing us a fortune.
“We f****d up the session for Carlos.
“We really are the losers here. And if there is a second practice session, Carlos will certainly not be able to take part. What’s happening here is simply unacceptable for Formula 1.”
Sainz wasn’t the only driver to suffer serious damage, with Alpine Renault’s Esteban Ocon also racing the clock to take part in any further racing on Friday.
When asked if Ocon’s car will be ready should the Las Vegas track pass all subsequent safety inspections, interim team principal Bruno Famin remained hopeful.
“Not totally impossible – it should not be ready. But if P2 is a bit longer … it could be possible,” he said.
“Maybe we have a possibility to be back on track.
“It is quite bad (the damage sustained) – we have to change the chassis.
“We have to pull the car in pieces.
“That’s why it’s a big challenge to get it ready for P2 (practice).
“It’s big damage – we cannot continue running like that.”
In a statement the International Motoring Federation (FIA) confirmed a concrete frame around a manhole cover had failed in the first event of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time,” the statement read.
“We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule.”
Formula One commentator Karun Chandhok questioned the safety of the Strip section of the 6.2km track, given it was only closed to the public 90 minutes before practice – and had been slated to re-open in between sessions.
“It’s still the sort of stuff that shouldn’t happen in nowadays with the level of inspection the FIA goes through,” he said.
“We need to keep in mind that was on the Strip which has been one of the few bits of the track that was open all day.
“I think they only closed it around 7pm (local time before the 8.30pm practice start) today.
“That was the part that has more traffic running all the way through.
“Perhaps because we’ve had general public, buses and taxis going on, they haven’t had the time to inspect it as well as the bit around the Sphere for example.”
Discussion about this post