Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz’s accident, in which his car hit a manhole during the first free practice session for the Las Vegas, could have ended much worse.
Max Verstappen revealed this in a video interview on ViaPlay.
The intense impact practically destroyed the underbody of Carlos Sainz’s SF23, forcing him to incur a penalty for changing components. As a result, despite qualifying in second place, Carlos Sainz will start from the twelfth position in Sunday’s race.
Toto Wolff dismissed the Ferrari driver’s incident as “just a damn manhole.” The Mercedes team principal didn’t hesitate to downplay the incident, sparking criticism from various quarters.
Today, Max Verstappen, former teammate of Carlos Sainz, shares another shocking detail about the impact with the manhole. ViaPlay asks the three-time world champion to give his opinion on Toto Wolff’s comments about the incident. Max Verstappen explained that, on one hand, Mercedes’ boss is right. Racing on a city circuit, it’s not uncommon to encounter unrepaired manholes on the track. For this reason, drivers should know what they are getting into.
However, the Dutch driver specifies that “If it had been his car, [Toto Wolff, editor’s note] would have spoken differently. But I don’t expect anything else from him.”
Max Verstappen emphasizes that if it had happened to a Red Bull, everyone on the team would be furious, just as Fred Vasseur reacted, labeling the episode as “unacceptable.”
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“Of course, the whole car is destroyed!” Max continues. Then the driver confesses to having spoken with Carlos Sainz and learned a chilling detail: “Carlos also said that for a few seconds, he couldn’t feel his legs. The accident could have ended much worse!”
You can watch the video of the interview with Max Verstappen via this link.
Source: f1ingenerale
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