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Carlos Sainz castigates the FIA ​​for the presence of oil at the start of the Las Vegas GP

Carlos Sainz was surprised by a lack of grip at the start linked to the presence of oil released by historic cars during the drivers' parade. The Spaniard pleads for a tightening of procedures by the FIA.

Published on 19/11/2023 à 13:47

Medhi Casaurang

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Carlos Sainz castigates the FIA ​​for the presence of oil at the start of the Las Vegas GP

Carlos Sainz is not very happy in Las Vegas. © DPPI / Antonin Vincent

Ranked sixth in the Grand Prix of Las Vegas 2023, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) could have retired from the first corner of the race. The Spaniard had in fact touched the Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton before spinning off and returning to his stand.

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The Madrilenian was not the only one to get trapped in the melee during the first braking. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) also went into an uncontrolled skid. More than a combined driving error, these incidents would be due to the presence of oil on the inner part of the circuit, as Carlos Sainz points out.

“I've seen a lot of oil from the historic cars we used for the drivers' parade, something the FIA ​​should look at, because it's not fair that all the oil is on the inside line. Besides the fact that the track was already dirty, we put cars on track that were losing oil an hour before the race; this is unacceptable. This is probably the cause of many accidents in the first corner. »

Indeed, the historic Mercedes supposed to take Lewis Hamilton during the parade broke down. The stewards then applied a strip of cement to soak up the oil on the surface of the tarmac, efforts therefore deemed insufficient by the winner of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

Despite his caution, Carlos Sainz was surprised. “I only touched the brake pedal, I didn't even press it and the tires locked up. I didn't even brake that late, I braked around the 100 meter sign, but arriving 100 km/h slower than a qualifying lap. Cold tires probably played a role. It was absolutely overwhelming, I think we all struggled in the first round. »

Having fallen to last place, Carlos Sainz then made an effective comeback to finish in 6th place. “We couldn't overtake the cars while trying to protect the engine. We also had to protect the tires from the graining phenomenon. So it was never an easy race, nor an easy comeback. Coming back from last place to sixth should be considered a good day. »

Medhi Casaurang

Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!

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