F1 fans lose it after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz handed 10-place grid penalty

Formula 1 fans have taken to social media to vent their frustration after the Las Vegas Grand Prix fell into even more controversy.

Carlos Sainz in disbelief after being handed 10-place grid penalty. Dan Istitene/Getty Images/AFP

Sorry, but this is outrageous.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, the crown jewel of the 2023 season, got off to the worst possible start on Friday when a manhole cover tore Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari apart.

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Just eight minutes into the first practice session of the weekend had gone by when the incident struck, leaving F1 in a state of disaster.

Vision on board with Sainz saw the Spaniard hit a bump and let out a groan before immediately being told to stop the car.

Ferrari went to work on repairing the damage to the power unit, chassis and survival cell on Sainz’s car.

But it was what unfolded in the hours after that simply defy belief and left not only the Spaniard in disbelief, but the entire Formula 1 fan base.

Ferrari requested leniency from the FIA, saying the damage was out of their hands. The governing body weren’t hearing it and slapped Sainz with a 10-place grid penalty.

Sainz copped a penalty despite it being a track issue. Chris Graythen/Getty Images/AFP.

Fans were quick to light their torches and grab their pitchforks as they slammed the FIA over the outrageous penalty.

One fan wrote: “The fia can’t grant an exception here but had no problem changing the rules in 2021 to decide the world champion title.”

Another added: “Feels wrong, penalising a driver for something the organisers (F1)/FIA caused, essentially.”

carlos gets a 10 place grid penalty due to the incompetency of the fia & f1… make it make sense pic.twitter.com/7mMX4BFH9X

— faye (@fayealaia) November 17, 2023

Ferrari managed to complete the repairs on Sainz’s car ahead of the second practice session which saw him finish second on the timesheets behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

But it was towards the end of the session when news came down of the penalty which didn’t sit well with the Spaniard.

“We seem to be switching on the tyres well over one lap and being competitive, so I was quite excited and optimistic,” said Sainz.

“Unfortunately, as the session finished, the team communicated to me that I was taking a 10-place grid penalty for something that I have no fault, and the team have no fault.

“That changed completely my mindset and my opinion on the weekend and how it’s going to go from now on. I’m disappointed and in disbelief with the situation. You will not see me very happy this weekend.”

Carlos Sainz isn’t a happy man. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Farcical scenes on the opening day of practice on the Vegas street circuit has turned the locals against the sport — at a time when residents were already furious at the impact it has had around the party city.

The greatest slap of them all came at 1.30am local time when spectators were ordered to leave — one hour before the second free practice session began at 2.30am local time.

In the early hours of the morning the Las Vegas Grand Prix released a statement that said nothing about refunds or compensation for fans.

“Due to logistical considerations for our fans and staff, we made the determination that we will be closing all Las Vegas Grand Prix fan areas at 1.30am,” the statement said.

“We look forward to welcoming fans back later today for exciting free practice 3 and qualifying sessions.”

The cherry on top for some astonished fans came when police patrolled the circuit and moved on spectators.

According to fan claims on Reddit, spectators were threatened with “trespassing charges” if they did not obey the order.

An event update from #LasVegasGP#F1pic.twitter.com/b9YuWYBOhS

— F1 Las Vegas (@F1LasVegas) November 17, 2023

It was Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo who was among the first to apologise to fans.

The AlphaTauri driver had already gone public with his concerns about the ticket prices at the event.

“Obviously, now that we’ve done a session, it feels more worth it. But at 1:30am (it) didn’t feel worth it. Everyone was like let’s just do this tomorrow,” he said, according to motorsport.com.

“I obviously don’t know the ins and outs with track availability and obviously it’s not a conventional circuit, so it’s not like we can just rock up here in the morning. I’m sure there are some limitations that we are a little bit at the mercy of.

“The grandstand situation, obviously that’s a bummer. But I guess if we didn’t do FP2, then it probably would have gotten scrapped, and we just would have gone into FP3.

“So, at least like this, maybe the fans got to the very least watch it on TV. We try to be positive. But yeah, it’s obviously a difficult situation.

“But I also don’t want to s**t on the sport. It’s the first time here, it’s a massive project and things unfortunately happened, but I guess they did the best they could with what they had.”