Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz strongly commented on the drain cover issue that resurfaced during the 2024 Formula 1 pre-season testing session in Bahrain, with the Spaniard still recalling the close call in Las Vegas a few months ago.
Once again, or rather twice, Formula 1 has had to deal with the drain cover problem. A phenomenon that no longer seems like an isolated case but the result of the size and weight of the new generation of cars. Carlos Sainz, who a few months ago had a close call in Las Vegas by passing at high speed over one of the drains on the circuit, complained bitterly about what happened in the Bahrain tests, followed closely by Max Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz Demands Regulatory Changes
“It seems that the regulations haven’t changed,” said the Madrid native, referring to the issue that disrupted the teams’ plans on the second and third days of testing. “These things will continue to happen, and people will continue to receive unfair penalties.”
The Spaniard clearly refers to what happened last November in the FP1 of the Las Vegas GP, with the FIA, despite the scare and significant damage, forcing him to serve a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the maximum limit of replaceable components.
A huge blow also for Ferrari, which, in addition to incurring significant costs for repairs (around 1.5 million euros), found itself dealing with the budget cap, reaching the limit for the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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“After what happened in Las Vegas, it should be mandatory to change the rule. As always, one team cannot agree with another, and there are always political things happening when Formula 1 teams do not agree.” – the Ferrari driver pointed out.
Max Verstappen, when asked about the incident, also supported his colleague: “With ground-effect cars, for me, it’s a bit worse. It also seems that we are driving in places where there aren’t many other cars in terms of widening in corners and so on. Perhaps this kind of thing can be more controlled. We know it’s a potential problem for these cars.”
Finally, an appeal to the FIA to prevent such incidents from happening again: “When you go to certain circuits, you know where the drains are, so I believe that before starting to drive on the weekend, checking that everything is solid is a duty for the upcoming circuits. We don’t want another situation where cars are destroyed, especially with the budget limit. It’s not nice when these things happen.” – the Dutch driver concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
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