Carlos Sainz's bad fare and the oil stain caused by his spin: "It is unacceptable"

It was all due to the breakdowns in the cars from which Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc greeted spectators during the traditional Drivers Parade.. Several oil leaks dirty the left side of the grill and the Las Vegas workers had to arm themselves with brushes and shovels to avoid another embarrassment like the one on Thursday. The conditioning tasks, with the rudimentary sepiolite, did not have an effect. And Carlos Sainz suffered the consequences.

The bad luck of the Madrid native, who had already destroyed his car due to a manhole cover during the first training session, continued at the start, passing over that very delicate point.. “It is not fair that all the oil was found in the interior area. In addition to the fact that the track was already dirty, an hour before the start they take out cars that leak oil. This, again, is something unacceptable,” explained the Ferrari driver, twelfth on the grid and sixth at the finish line.

“Going through areas of oil left by cars an hour before the race is something that must be improved for the future,” said Sainz, visibly upset by these logistical problems.. “This problem, surely, caused the spin in the first corner,” said the Spaniard, who would end up colliding with Hamilton and falling to the penultimate place, only ahead of Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.

“I didn't even step on the brake”

Although his approach to the curve was plagued by problems, he found less grip than expected. “I only touched the brake, I didn't even press it and the tires locked. It was 100 meters before the curve, but it was 100 km/h slower than on a qualifying lap. “Maybe the cold tires also played a role, but it was absolutely shocking,” Sainz explained.

At least, his consistency and poise allowed him to reach the finish line in sixth position, just ahead of the Mercedes. “I did everything I could and it was a good comeback, because I also suffered graining following other cars. We couldn't overtake because we were trying to protect the engine and I also had to take care of the tires so that they didn't open up more,” he said.

Sainz and Leclerc, during the Drivers Parade in Las Vegas. AFP

However, Sainz also wanted to send a message to the Silver Arrows. “I'm very happy to finish ahead of those who wanted to see me sanctioned,” he said in reference to Toto Wolff's complaints after changing the batteries in his Ferrari, which would end up leading to a penalty of 10 places on the grid..

And the fight for second place in the Constructors' World Championship has been taken very seriously within the Scuderia.. In the absence of the last event on the calendar, next Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the Maranello team has 388 points, only four less than the men led by Toto Wolff.