F1 News: Carlos Sainz Reveals - "Never Been More Upset Towards The Sport"

Carlos Sainz isn't letting the drain hole cover incident slip that easily.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz recently admitted that he was still angry and upset with the sport for the drain hole cover incident from the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend that left him with a ten-spot grid penalty for no fault of his. Not to forget the severe damage his car suffered due to the impact.

Sainz may remember the inaugural Las Vegas GP for the wrong reasons for a long time to come. After all, the manner in which his crash was handled by Formula 1 left him and his team frustrated. 

As a reminder, Sainz was racing in FP1 of the Las Vegas GP when a loose drain hole cover destroyed the underbody of his car. Thus, extensive repairs had to be carried out, including the addition of a new battery that attracted him a ten-place grid penalty for no mistake of his. The stewards admitted that it wasn't Sainz's fault, but they did not possess the power to write off the penalty.

The bad start caused him to finish P6 in the race. However, in the next race in Abu Dhabi, the season's grand finale, Sainz was still not in form. After a Q1 exit, he finished P18. 

The Spaniard believes that the results of the last two races of 2023 and Ferrari's position in the Constructors' Championship would have been different if it wasn't for the incident in Las Vegas. When asked by PlanetF1.com about the incident, he said:

“It was such a disastrous weekend for me and the team and we lost such a good opportunity there to score big points and fight for a win that I haven’t fought [for] since Singapore.

“It was an incredibly frustrating feeling. I’ve never been as frustrated as a racing driver, or never been more upset towards the sport than I was in Vegas.”

Sainz revealed at an Estrella Galicia 0.0 sponsor event that he had no hopes of obtaining justice even if he protested against the sport's verdict. He added:

“I’m still angry about what happened and it affected my championship and Ferrari’s championship, but even if you put a protest you never win it, so there it is, the way F1 behaved with me and Ferrari, I don’t see a solution to the problem.

“Maybe without that breakage the end of the season would have been different, with a different performance in Abu Dhabi.

“It was an unfortunate end and I don’t want it to tarnish a good season for me.”