Carlos Sainz: To be honest, I don’t understand these rules

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz ended the first working day at the Las Vegas circuit in the top two lines of the protocol, although the start of training for Ferrari was overshadowed by an unpleasant incident.

Sainz’s car suffered serious damage due to hard contact with one of the defective elements of the track’s drainage system, after which the team was forced to change the chassis. In addition, the combustion engine, energy storage device and control electronics were replaced on the Spaniard’s SF-23. As a result, he receives a fine and loses ten positions at the start of the Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc (1st): “It was a somewhat unusual day. The first training session was stopped after just four laps and we had only covered very few kilometers. But in the second session we had to test the tires of all available connections in 90 minutes, so we tried to work as efficiently as possible.

This session was productive, we were able to complete a lot of laps and I enjoyed driving on this track. We have been quite competitive so far, but the weekend has only just begun. We don’t have much time to prepare for tomorrow, so we have to work hard to keep the momentum going.”

Carlos Sainz (2nd): “It was an eventful day after problems during the first training, but our boys did a great job. In fact, before the second practice they had to put together a new car and we managed to complete the program, so a big thank you to all the Ferrari mechanics.

It looks like we’ll be competitive this weekend and I’m already preparing for tomorrow. Speaking of problems, we received a penalty and at the start of the race we lost ten positions because I had to replace the battery of my car, among other things.

Frankly, I don’t understand such rules and believe that given the circumstances of the incident, there should be exceptions. Either way, we will have to deal with this situation one way or another.”