Carlos Sainz finished sixth in the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Spaniard could have undoubtedly achieved a higher position, had he not been handed a ten-place grid penalty for replacing several components. This was a controversial penalty, as he had to replace these parts due to unintentional damage caused by a loose manhole cover. Looking ahead to the 2024 edition, Sainz believes he is owed something by the organizers.
Las Vegas opened its doors with much fanfare last year for the inaugural Grand Prix. However, the spectacle was short-lived; after just nine minutes, the first free practice was halted because Carlos Sainz damaged his car on a loose manhole cover. The session was prematurely terminated. The incident led to outrage among fans and great anger within the Ferrari team – after all, Sainz’s engine was completely destroyed.
The Scuderia had to replace the Spaniard’s battery, engine, and control electronics. This resulted in an unintended ten-place grid penalty. While Sainz initially qualified second, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc, he ultimately started from P12. In the race, he did not advance beyond the sixth position.
‘Name the Straight Stretch After Me’
One year later, the second edition of the Las Vegas GP is on the horizon, and Carlos Sainz still believes he was ‘unfairly penalized’ at the time. However, he now has an idea of how the organizers can make amends. In a conversation with the Spanish Marca, he joked that the straight stretch of the street circuit should be named after him.
“I saw on social media that someone said they named the straight stretch—where I hit the manhole cover last year—after me,” Sainz shared. “Of course, that’s not really true, but they probably should have. No, I’m joking,” he added with a laugh. “Hopefully, I can achieve a better result this year. We really could have won last year.” Max Verstappen took the victory in 2023. “I was clearly unfairly penalized,” Sainz concluded. “Hopefully, Las Vegas has something nice in store for us this year.”
