Thus far the Las Vegas Grand prix has been filled with controversy from the start. In what was supposed to be one of the most memorable and festive grand prix of all time. It is being remembered for all of the wrong reasons. In FP1 Carlos Sainz was Forced to Retire after a manhole was dislodged from the pavement causing major damage to the bottom of his car and the power unit. While the incident wasn’t Sainz’s fault the FIA stewards then doubled double and handed Sainz a 10 place grid penalty.
The Steward Issued the Following Statements for Sainz Penalty
“The stewards determine that notwithstanding the fact that the damage was caused by highly unusual external circumstances, Article 2.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations obliges all officials, including the Stewards, to apply the regulations as they are written,” said the announcement. “Accordingly, the mandatory penalty specified under Article 28.3 of the Sporting Regulations must be applied. The stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action.”
The punishment seems overly punitive considering the incident was caused by an improperly vetted manhole on the pavement. On the flip side for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc’s sim racing time seems to be playing well into his hands as he runs fastest again in FP2. Unfortunately, Sainz will already be at a disadvantage heading into qualifying despite running second fastest in FP2. The session was delayed as the track marshals had not finished vetting all of the drain covers on the circuit.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix previously posted the following statement before deleting it for why fans were removed from the stands. “Due to logistical considerations for our fans and our staff, we have made the determination that we will be closing all Las Vegas Grand Prix fan areas at 1.30am. We look forward to welcoming fans back later today for exciting FP3 and qualifying sessions”.
Due to this the circuit officials mandated that all fans be removed form grandstands despite being ticket holders. The fans were not happy about this decision after already being robbed of 51 minutes of action in FP1. The decision was made 30 minutes before the start of FP2. The fans took to social media to express their frustrations.
Another Said
Some fans were even threatened with arrest
Unfortunately the race weekend has gotten off to a shaky start. FP3 is scheduled for Friday 8:30 PM local time with qualifying at midnight thereafter.
Full FP2 Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:35.265 | | 39 |
| 2 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:35.782 | +0.517s | 39 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:35.793 | +0.528s | 38 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:36.085 | +0.820s | 36 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 1:36.129 | +0.864s | 36 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:36.183 | +0.918s | 37 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:36.489 | +1.224s | 33 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:36.496 | +1.231s | 41 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:36.663 | +1.398s | 42 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:36.688 | +1.423s | 42 |
| 11 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:36.864 | +1.599s | 33 |
| 12 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:36.890 | +1.625s | 37 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:36.917 | +1.652s | 37 |
| 14 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:36.987 | +1.722s | 35 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:37.134 | +1.869s | 33 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:37.241 | +1.976s | 37 |
| 17 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 1:37.412 | +2.147s | 41 |
| 18 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 1:37.656 | +2.391s | 36 |
| 19 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT | 1:37.680 | +2.415s | 40 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:38.140 | +2.875s | 42 |