Fred Vasseur provides support to 'scared' Carlos Sainz after Abu Dhabi crash

Carlos Sainz during the Las Vegas Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Vasseur provides support to 'scared' Sainz after Abu Dhabi crash

The Spaniard once again took some heavy damage on his car

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 25 November 2023 14:12

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has said that Carlos Sainz's session was a bit 'complicated', after the Spaniard experienced a heavy shunt into the barriers during FP2 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The session was stopped after eight minutes following Sainz's spin heading into turn three at the Yas Marina Circuit, which saw a 27-minute delay as stewards got rid of Sainz's car and fixed the barriers.

It was the second weekend in a row in which Sainz has given his team plenty of work to do before Saturday, after a loose drain cover caused serious damage to his Ferrari last time out at the Las Vegas GP.

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This time around, the damage may not have been quite as bad, but Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle said during the broadcast that there is "an awful lot of work to do for the team to get their car fixed ready for tomorrow."

Carlos Sainz crashed out during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

It's the second weekend in a row that Carlos Sainz has suffered an incident in practice, after crashing in FP1 in Las Vegas

Ferrari head into this weekend in an almighty battle for second place in the constructors' championship, four points behind Mercedes

Ferrari battle with Mercedes

Now, Ferrari boss Vasseur has had his say on the incident, as well as a terrific lap from Charles Leclerc which saw him top the timesheets in FP2, a good sign heading into a season-ending race in which second in the constructors' championship is still up for grabs.

"It's the "Grand Charles" all over again," the Frenchman told Canal+.

"In just one lap he got into the rhythm of those who had ridden in FP1. And by the second lap he was in front! We've still got a long way to go and I think that bodes well for him.

"It was a bit more complicated for Carlos. I think he got a bit scared with the car coming out in front of him and he took his foot off the accelerator and ... (Crash).

"And for his car... To the scrapyard along the N20 (a famous French road). But anyway we had planned to change the engine and gearbox this evening."