Ferrari 'reopen' Carlos Sainz Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix insurance claim

Sainz na raken putdeksel in VT1 Las Vegas — Photo: © LAT Images

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Ferrari 'reopen' controversial Las Vegas F1 dispute

Just when it seemed the dust had settled, the fallout from the incident rumbles on

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Wednesday 3 January 2024 09:57

Ferrari F1 team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed that they have 'reopened' the case of who is responsible for covering the cost of repairing the damage sustained to Carlos Sainz's car at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

After all the hype and build-up in the days and weeks leading up to the race weekend, the Las Vegas spectacle came to a grinding halt after less than 10 minutes of FP1.

Sainz's SF-23 suffered major damage after he went over a loose manhole cover that tore a hole in his chassis.

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This led to the Ferrari needing a new battery, chassis, floor and engine – and to add insult to injury – Sainz was hit with a grid penalty for the work done to the car.

Carlos Sainz's Ferrari suffered serious damage from the incident in FP1

Fred Vasseur is now hoping that his team are compensated for the costs incurred

In the current era of strict budget caps, the money spent on repairing the car would have been hugely damaging for Ferrari.

But Vasseur has now revealed that they have 'reopened' the incident and are in discussions with insurance companies to hopefully receive compensation.

Ferrari 'reopen' Sainz insurance claim

“No, no,” he told the media when asked if Ferrari had received answers as to who was going to pay for the damage done to the car.

“You know that, when you open the discussion with the insurance, it’s ages! It’s true everywhere, including in F1.

“We will have the time to have the discussion, we reopened the case yesterday or the day before. But it would be fair!”

Sainz meanwhile has struggled to come to terms with something that he sees as a miscarriage of justice, especially after Ferrari missed out on P2 to Mercedes in the constructors' championship by just three points.

Carlos Sainz was not pleased with how the incident was handled at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

“I’m still angry about what happened," he said. "It affected my championship and Ferrari’s championship, but even if you put a protest you never win it, so there it is, the way F1 behaved with me and Ferrari, I don’t see a solution to the problem.

“Maybe without that breakage the end of the season would have been different, with a different performance in Abu Dhabi.

“It was an unfortunate end and I don’t want it to tarnish a good season for me.”

Ferrari Carlos Sainz Las Vegas Grand Prix Fred Vasseur