F1's Carlos Sainz crashes into Las Vegas drain cover in blow to his Ferrari and Formula 1's return to the city
CBSN
Las Vegas — Tempers flared at the Las Vegas Grand Prix after the first practice of the $500 million race was halted nine minutes into the session Thursday night because Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a water valve cover that badly damaged his Ferrari. The FIA said Sainz hit the concrete frame around the cover. It took another 11 minutes for the governing body to call all cars off track so it could inspect the entire circuit.
The start of a second practice scheduled for midnight Thursday was delayed, and Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur raged that the "just unacceptable" incident would keep Sainz from participating. Ferrari had to replace the entire chassis and other components and was summoned to speak to F1's stewards to determine if the repairs would draw a penalty.
Video captured by both fans and traffic cameras showed a fountain of sparks spewing from Sainz' Ferrari as it continued briefly down the track after the collision. One group of fans watching from indoors near the section of track where the crash occurred appeared shocked and let out gasps as they saw the car fly past with something so obviously wrong.
