Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz expressed his dissatisfaction with the condition of the grid at the commencement of the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, deeming it “unacceptable” due to an oil spill that took place just moments before the race.
An oil leak from a classic car designated to transport Lewis Hamilton during the pre-race drivers’ parade resulted in the left-hand side of the grid being coated with slippery fluid. Despite the combined efforts of Formula 1 and track personnel to absorb the fluids using cement dust, the race initiated with significant portions of the inner circuit covered in dust.
The Ferrari driver found himself entangled in incidents at the initial corner, with the Spaniard spinning after colliding with the rear of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W14 car. Simultaneously, Fernando Alonso also spun, losing control of his Aston Martin through the first corner immediately after the start.
“I saw a lot of oil from the cars that we used to do the drivers parade, which is another thing for the FIA to look at, because it is not fair that all the oil was on the inside line. Apart from the dirty track already being there, on top of that, we put cars that are leaking oil into the track one hour before the race – it’s unacceptable. That probably caused a lot of the crashes into turn one.” – Carlos Sainz explained at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz mentioned that he approached the first corner with heightened caution, only to discover even less grip than he had expected: “I just touched the brake, not even hit it and the tyres were locked. I didn’t even brake that late, I braked around the 100 metre board but arriving 100kph slower than on a quali lap. The cold tyres probably also played a role. It was absolutely shocking, lap one, and I think we all struggled.” – he explained.
Even though Carlos Sainz initially faced the opposite direction at turn one, he managed to make a recovery during the race, eventually securing a sixth-place finish after making a pit stop under the early Safety Car, which helped the Spaniard, but compromised the race for his Maranello teammate: “After lap one and being nearly dead last to come back for a P6 was definitely a good comeback and damage limitation,” he said. “I did everything I could. It was an issue also with the graining in traffic, it was almost impossible not to open the graining following other cars. We couldn’t overtake people because of trying to protect the engine. We also had to protect the tyres with the graining. So it was never going to be an easy race, an easy comeback. So to make it all the way back from nearly dead last to be P6 has to be a good day.” – he continued.
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Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz’s teammate, contended for victory throughout the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz expressed regret over the grid penalty he incurred due to damage caused by hitting a loose water valve cover in the start of the first free practice session at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit: “Obviously I’m regretting not to be able to be up there fighting for the win because it looked like this weekend that the car was at least able to do a podium. It would have been a fun race.” – the Ferrari man concluded.
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