The last time Formula 1 was at a street track for a night race, Carlos Sainz stood on the top step of the podium. It was the Singapore GP; Red Bull was totally off its game, and Ferrari capitalized. The Spaniard drove a near-perfect race, an absolute masterclass. Coming into the inaugural Las Vegas GP, Carlos Sainz would’ve wanted to emulate the same form he had in Singapore. But right from the get-go, things went south for him. And it looks like they’re going to get worse.

When F1 scheduled the Las Vegas GP in November, it didn’t cater for the cold temperatures. But the cold temperatures and the Monza-esque layout were predicted to suit Ferrari. Even so, Sainz was a little skeptical about how the weekend would play out. He said, “There’s a lot of things that we will have to adapt to. Not only the time but also the new track and a different layout. Street track, which always makes things more challenging. So yeah, plenty of things to adapt to.” Too bad the Spaniard didn’t get any time to adapt to it because of something out of his control.

Less than 10 minutes into FP1, Sainz went over a broken manhole cover (that shouldn’t have been broken in the first place). In the process, he had significant damage to his SF-23’s engine, battery, and monocoque. He stopped on track, and the Red Flag came out, suspending the session. Not only did he and everyone else lose precious practice time because of a fault in the track, but Sainz is also set to receive a grid penalty!

Read More: Carlos Sainz Yet Again Sours at F1 as Las Vegas GP Poses “Weird” Challenge

Needless to say, the FIA just gave fans another reason to unleash their wrath on the governing body. And they did so on Twitter.

FIA’s actions against Carlos Sainz at the Las Vegas GP are “disgusting”

The FIA confirmed that “Carlos Sainz will take a 10-place grid penalty as a result of a new battery.” Because Sainz’s car went over the broken manhole and damaged his battery, he’s getting a penalty for it. Fans couldn’t get their heads around the fact. The broken manhole was the FIA’s fault. Aren’t penalties meant to be handed when the drivers are at fault? 

There was no way Sainz could’ve done anything to avoid it. 

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“That [incident] could have had fatal consequences,” said Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. So what this means is that the FIA gave Sainz a penalty for putting him in danger. 

Granted, there are rules for part changes in F1. Exceeding the stipulated number of changes does lead to penalties. That’s an accepted fact. But the Ferrari driver got penalized for putting a new battery in his car because of something totally out of his control.

A 10-place grid penalty is wild. And “unacceptable.” 

The FIA has come under heavy scrutiny for its actions in the recent past. Little by little, they’ve just been piling up. Now, it seems like fans have had enough. The FIA really needs to sort out its issues.

One fan described the FIA’s decision to hand Carlos Sainz a 10-pace frid penalty quite simply.

What were your thoughts on hearing that Carlos Sainz received a penalty for something he couldn’t have controlled?

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