Ferrari boss rages at F1 after ‘unacceptable’ loose drain cover wrecks Carlos Sainz’s car

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was scathing of Formula 1 after Carlos Sainz’s car was substantially damaged mere minutes into practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1’s newest race started in farcical fashion on Thursday night after first practice was stopped following just eight minutes due to a loose drain cover on the Vegas strip section of the circuit.

Sainz’s Ferrari car drove over the manhole at more than 200mph, causing damage to the floor. The Spaniard stopped his car on the side of the track.

To add salt to the wounds, the damage sustained resulted in Sainz taking an extra power unit, thereby exceeding his season’s allocation. He will receive a penalty, yet to be determined, for the race on Saturday night.

Vasseur labelled the incident “unacceptable” in the team principals’ press conference afterwards.

“What he [Carlos] said was ‘I hit something on track.’ He didn’t know exactly what it was,” said Vasseur.

“The situation is that we’ve changed the monocoque, the engine, the battery - I think it’s just unacceptable.

“We’ve f***ed up the session for Carlos.

“We have to change the chassis of the car. I think it’s just unacceptable from F1 today.”