Videos taken by fans at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit show the extent of the damage that Carlos Sainz Jr. sustained in his incident during first practice.
The First practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was called off after Carlos Sainz crashed into a loose manhole cover at a high speed, severely damaging his Ferrari.
A loose manhole cover made contact with Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, sending sparks flying from the car’s underside resulting to damage which forced the cancellation of first practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
During that particular lap, Sainz was the fourth driver to make it over the yellow-flagged section of the track after they began waving.
The green flags were out by the time Esteban Ocon approached turn 14 which marked the end of the Strip while Alexander Albon and teammate Pierre Gasly noticed the yellow flags behind him.
The next driver to get a warning over the yellow flags was Fernando Alonso. Presumably spotting something on the track, the Aston Martin driver veered to the left at the same pion where Sainz hit the manhole cover.
A CCTV camera pointed towards the track and a number of fans present at the exact location recorded what happened next. Cruising at about 300 kph, Sainz struck the exposed cover hard enough to cause a massive spark shower as well as damage to the power unit and survival cell of his car.
Sainz managed take part in the second practice after escaping the incident unharmed, as the session was held two and a half hours later than planned due to track repairs and inspections.
Ferrari had to replace some parts on his car as a result of the impact damage, which means he will be docked ten spots on the grid for Sunday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix race.
