In a terrible turn of events that possibly altered the course of Ferrari’s 2023 season, Carlos Sainz found himself at the center of controversy during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The weekend where Ferrari eventually looked quite strong took a sharp turn when the Spaniard encountered a loose manhole cover just eight minutes into the first practice session. Little did he know that this incident would snowball into a nightmare that not only affected his individual championship but also cast a shadow on Ferrari’s bid for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Carlos Sainz, innocent in the manhole cover incident, faced a series of challenges as his car suffered extensive damage to the engine, battery, and monocoque. The team’s quest to rectify the situation without incurring penalties hit a roadblock when their request to replace Sainz’s energy store was denied by the stewards, resulting in a harsh 10-place grid penalty for the Spaniard. Ferrari’s commendable efforts to overhaul the car, including a chassis change, could only do so much to salvage the weekend as Sainz only managed to recover to P6 on Sunday.

Carlos Sainz is still furious at FIA’s mishandling of the manhole debacle

As the dust settled on the 2023 season, one could only imagine if Ferrari could have secured second place in the Constructors’ Championship had the manhole cover incident not ruined Sainz’s weekend. After all, the Maranello squad finished just three points behind Mercedes, and considering their form in Las Vegas, with Charles Leclerc finishing just behind Max Verstappen in P2. It’s plausible to imagine a different outcome if Carlos Sainz had started from his original grid position in P2.

Recently, Sainz took another jab at the FIA for what he perceives as the governing body’s role in altering the championship narrative. In response to FIA’s statement, “Even if you make a protest, you NEVER win it,” Carlos expressed his ongoing frustration. “I’m still angry about what happened and affected my championship and that of Ferrari. Perhaps without that break, the end of the season would have been different, with another performance in Abu Dhabi. It was an unfortunate end, and I don’t want it to stain a good season for me,” [Translated by Google] he said according to a post on X.

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Sainz’s penalty raised questions about the fairness and implications of the decisions made by the stewards. However, the stewards themselves were not satisfied with how the whole thing turned out.

The Stewards knew Sainz’s penalty was wrong but couldn’t avoid it

The FP1 incident in Las Vegas was something that Formula One race steward Derek Warwick described as both wrong and unavoidable. Warwick, a former F1 racer himself, shed light on the stewards’ challenging role, acknowledging that the penalty given to Carlos Sainz felt wrong, but was dictated by the rules.

“The penalty we had to give Sainz in Vegas, it felt wrong, it was wrong, we worked very hard for it not to happen, but they’re the rules,” explained Warwick at the Autosport Awards in London according to a report by Reuters. He expressed that the stewards’ responsibility is not an easy one. “It’s a difficult job for a steward, the same as a referee, and we’ve got to be impartial, we’ve got to be strict, and we’ve got to be hard sometimes even when it hurts us,” Warwick emphasized.

The Stewards expressed their willingness to consider a derogation if the rules allowed it. Unfortunately for Sainz, the absence of a provision in the rules left the stewards bound by the automatic penalty triggered when Ferrari replaced his car’s energy store, exceeding the allowable quota for the season.

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Do you think Ferrari could have clinched P2 in the Constructors’ Championship if not for the Vegas incident? Share your thoughts in the comments below.