The stewards have rejected a special request from Ferrari to replace the battery in Carlos Sainz’s car with impunity. The Italian team believed that there were ‘very unusual, external circumstances’, but the FIA ​​does not agree. Sainz will simply be moved back ten places on the grid on Saturday.
The GP weekend in Las Vegas did not start well, to say the least. Due to several incidents with a manhole cover, the track time during the first free practice for the drivers was limited to just eight minutes. For Sainz, however, the damage is not limited to just the loss of valuable track time, because after contact with a manhole cover, the Spaniard also suffered considerable damage to his car.
FIA rejects request
The damage was of such a nature that Ferrari was forced to replace the battery in Sainz’s SF-23 and since this was completely beyond the fault of the team and the driver, the Italian racing stable hoped that the FIA ​​would accommodate them. According to the rules, Sainz would receive a grid penalty, as the Spaniard is on edge. But the team hoped that the FIA ​​would give permission to replace the damaged parts with impunity.
That request has now been rejected by the stewards in Las Vegas. A Ferrari representative had to report to the sports marshals at 01:00 local time to explain why an exception had to be made for them. The delegate was unable to convince the stewards and so Sainz simply received a grid penalty of ten places. The good news for Sainz is that by postponing FP2 several times, he may still be able to make some progress on Thursday.
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