MADRID, 17 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The first free practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been canceled this Friday, after the Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) had a problem with a manhole cover that destroyed the underside of his car, an incident that also forced the second practice to be delayed.
Not even 10 minutes into the first free practice of the weekend, the man from Madrid stopped his car on the Strip straight after his car suffered a jolt before the engine said ‘enough’. After the initial uncertainty, it was confirmed that a manhole cover, which was not well sealed, had hit the underside of Sainz’s SF-23 hard, even becoming embedded and causing damage to the pilot’s seat, the chassis, the motor and battery. Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) was also affected.
Faced with this situation, which clouds all the ‘show’ and paraphernalia that has surrounded the GP in recent weeks and calls into question the safety of the track, the FIA, after raising the red flag, decided to cancel the session until the problem is resolved. and check all the sewers in the circuit. In addition, the second free practice session was delayed until 11:00 Spanish peninsular time, lasting 90 minutes.