Fred Vasseur slams ‘unacceptable’ track issue: “”We f****d up the session for Carlos” | 2023 Las Vegas GP. Frederic Vasseur is not happy after the FP1 events in Las Vegas.

Friday already over for Carlos Sainz
If there are sufficient safety conditions to allow the cars to return to the track for FP2, Carlos Sainz will not be among those who can return to the circuit. The Ferrari driver, in fact, suffered substantial damage after passing at over 300 km/h over a manhole cover that had lifted earlier following the passage of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.

Carlos Sainz saw everything shut down after the impact and had to park his SF-23 #55 miserably at the end of the Strip straight. From the closed-circuit cameras of the Bellagio hotel and also from the onboard of Guan Yu Zhou who was following the Spaniard, it is evident that Carlos Sainz’s passage over the implicated point caused the release of numerous sparks, testifying to the damage suffered by the Ferrari of the Iberian driver.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur is furious about a truly unedifying episode for Formula 1, which insisted on racing in Las Vegas at all costs: “”What Carlos said was he hit something on track and didn’t know what it was. We completely damaged the monocoque, engine and battery. It’s unacceptable. We f****d up the session for Carlos and he won’t be part of FP2, that’s for sure, because we have to change two-thirds of the car.”,” said the head of the Ferrari pit wall, as reported by Sky Sport F1. In a press conference, Fred Vasseur added that this manhole cover “will cost Ferrari a fortune” in terms of the damage caused.

Frederic Vasseur was then asked about the Las Vegas event itself but is not in a mood to talk positively. Completely understandable from the Ferrari team principal following the events which took place in the first free practice session for the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix earlier today.