With a delay of two and a half hours, after a terrible start to Las Vegas GPFP1 was eventually canceled due to a faulty sewer causing damage to the driver’s car. Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon. In Carlos’s case, the streak of bad luck was extreme. The planets are aligned against him. Better not go to any casino this weekend in the City of Gambling. The Madrid native can aim high in Las Vegas. It was an ideal layout for his car due to its long straights, something he had already taken advantage of at Monza, where he took pole position and finished on the podium. And also, Verstappen seems more down to earth. Ferrari can dream. I can bet everything on red. But due to an incident beyond his control, he did not run for pole position and victory.
Charles Leclerc was the fastest of the day, leading Free Practice 2 with 1’35″265, with Sainz 0″517. And the two Red Bulls seem to have struggled even more. Verstappen even made configuration changes in the final minutes of the session, a sign that he didn’t like something or that he was uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the Ferraris were happy with their balance and focused their work on changing tires and evaluating their performance as the track improved. Good sign for those in red. And although Verstappen showed great race pace, Ferrari knows this weekend could be one of its best options to stand up to Max. But Carlos will be left without trying.
In the first minutes of Free Practice 1, the Madrid native suffered a severe crash with the bottom of his car against a faulty sewer. Organizational fault, maybe the FIA for not checking the layout enough, or maybe the rush to get everything on time the first time on this track on the Las Vegas Strip. What is clear is not the fault of Carlos, who found himself with massive damage to his car and a terrible fear of removing the body. It seemed to explode. He was running 318 km/h and hit that metal cap. It has a hole in its cabin where the asphalt can be seen.
Luckily, Carlos didn’t do anything to himself. It can be very dangerous. The chassis, engine and battery were damaged. His mechanic had to fit the new chassis to barely make it in time for Free Practice 2 due to the 2 and a half hour delay for the FIA to check all the sewers and cover them with concrete. A little mess among the thousands of lights in Las Vegas. He had to have the battery replaced because of that impact, which unfortunately was his third of the season and meant a 10-place penalty. The FIA did not waive the penalty due to other similar precedents where the penalties were maintained. So Sainz lost a good chance. He will not be able to fight for pole and will have to come back from past 10th place this Sunday.
Alonso, the big surprise
On this first day, one of the biggest positive surprises was Fernando Alonso and the speed of the Aston Martin. Theoretically, the Las Vegas circuit, with its many straights, does not favor the Aston Martin due to the car’s poor aerodynamic efficiency on the straight. However, the green team’s start is encouraging.
First, because both Fernando Alonso (3rd at 0.528) and Lance Stroll (8th at 1.231) were happy from the start with the car’s performance. But not only that, the times were natural and easy all the time and Fernando won a good third place ahead of ‘Checo’ Pérez (4th at 0.820). This time, the McLarens began to suffer on a track with too many straights, with Norris 11th and Piastri, 14th. And Mercedes suffered massive ‘graining’ in their tyres. Aston Martin was fast and two of its main rivals for the podiums, started with more problems.
This is a good start for those in green, although one cannot draw hasty conclusions. It’s still Friday, it’s too early and the track can be improved. If grip increases, teams can try a minimum load aero setup like monzaand the performance of that configuration can change things.
Fuel charges and engine maps are also unknown. There is a lot left and F1 is very good. Getting into Q2 and Q3 will again be very expensive, but for now, the start for Fernando is positive.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
