Dismissing Ferrari’s $2.2 MN Damages, Carlos Sainz Dearly Wishes for Repeat of Las Vegas GP

Despite being the only team on the grid to secure a race win in 2023, the overall assessment of Ferrari‘s season is disappointing. The team suffered many setbacks during the season with volatile performances from one weekend to the next, multiple DNFs, one DNS and DSQ, and the damaging pothole incident in Las Vegas. Despite the Vegas incident in which Ferrari potentially lost out on the P2 spot in the constructor’s championship, Ferrari’s Spaniard Carlos Sainz is wishing for round two.

We are all aware of the Las Vegas GP infamous pothole incident which added to the race weekend’s criticism. The pothole caught Sainz off-guard as he ran his SF-23 over it, damaging the chassis, the combustion engine, the oil pump, the battery, and the control unit. This not only cost the Spaniard a 10-place grid penalty but also cost Ferrari a whopping $2.2 million in the cost cap. Despite such a horrendous outcome, the Spaniard wants more of the Las Vegas GP.

Carlos Sainz looking forward to more Las Vegas GPs than Singapore

Sainz executed a brilliant race in Singapore to earn Ferrari’s first and only win of the season, which turned out to be the only win that did not belong to the extremely dominant Red Bull. However, despite the damaging incident in FP1, Sainz believed the car was much better in Vegas than in Singapore.

The Spaniard revealed that while speaking to Autosport discussing the operational prowess of the Italian team toward the end of the season.

He explained the volatile nature of the 2023 season for Ferrari. He said, “It’s not easy because it’s mentally challenging to understand how in Las Vegas you can out-qualify the Red Bull by three-tenths and fight for the win and then go to Brazil and be a second off the race pace. It’s almost unbelievable that these swings in performance can happen.”

He then made the suggestion that disregarded the $2.2 million loss. “Now we need to focus on making sure we have more Vegases than Singapores next year.”

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This admission surely gives us an insight into how quickly the drivers leave the past in the past and carry the memory of a goldfish. However, during the moment, the Spaniard was angry as a bull during the San Fermín festival.

Despite wanting more of Las Vegas, Carlos Sainz was livid during the weekend

No one could’ve imagined the scenario that Carlos Sainz suffered during the Vegas GP weekend. The Spaniard not only damaged his floor but also had to change his battery, which warranted a 10-place grid penalty during the race. This penalty, with no fault of his own, was wrong and cruel, to say the least.

Even a steward agreed it was wrong, but they had to adhere to the rules. Steward Derek Warwick 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.” 

This is exactly why the Spaniard was livid on a weekend he had expectations of a pole position but started from P12. He said, “I would love to be on pole because it would mean I would start eleventh instead of twelfth. But I think we did the maximum that we could today. Still disappointed from yesterday I’m not going to lie. I’m still in a very bad mood. I think the car has the pace, but it’s going to be difficult from P12.”

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However, what’s done is done, which explains to us the Spaniard’s desire for another race in Vegas. Let’s hope it is less eventful but as entertaining as this year’s race.