The case of the penalty imposed on Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz following the incidents that took place in the first free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix has divided the Formula 1 paddock, once again highlighting some limitations of the regulations. The Spanish driver found himself a victim of a situation for which he was not at fault, as it was the responsibility of the circuit officials to ensure that the manhole covers were at the level of the road. Understandably, there are no codes regarding how to act in these circumstances, given their absurdity.
Diego Ioverno and his team sought an exception, but the stewards, almost apologizing, denied it. This is what the FIA documents state, although some voices, not entirely clear, claim that there was a vote among team principals on the matter, and only Mercedes voted in favor of the 10-grid penalty. Failing to achieve unanimity of opinions, Ferrari had nothing else to do but accept the misfortune.
Commenting on the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a recent article published on the Sky Sport UK website, F1 pundit Martin Brundle addressed this episode, stating that it is difficult to play with the interpretation of the rules, leaving too much power in the hands of the judges, as happened in Abu Dhabi two years ago. Yet a compromise is necessary: there cannot be rules for every case, but adding some “shortcuts” is enough. “There are hundreds of pages of technical and sporting rules for Formula 1, but none has allowed the commissioners to legally turn a blind eye to situations that seem unjust. It’s dangerous to write a clause and create a precedent where stewards can ignore a code in favor of common sense in situations of force majeure, even if every other team and organizing body agrees. But we really need to add some words, with due checks and precautions, so that liberties can be taken without fear of repercussions,” wrote the expert.
Buy official Ferrari F1 products!
