P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Formula 1 steward Derek Warwick admits it “felt wrong” having to hand Carlos Sainz a 10-place grid penalty at the
During a practice session at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Carlos Sainz damaged his Ferrari after running over a water valve cover, leading to the need for a power unit change. Ferrari requested permission to use a third energy store, but their appeal was dismissed by the stewards, resulting in Sainz losing a front-row start. Sainz and Ferrari expressed their frustration with the decision, while Max Verstappen sympathized with Sainz and called for rule changes in such situations. Steward Derek Warwick acknowledged the unsatisfactory outcome but stated that the rules had to be applied as defined. Suggestions were made to add a force majeure clause to prevent similar incidents in the future, but teams had previously rejected this idea due to concerns about potential abuse of power. AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer revealed that if asked, their team would have supported Ferrari’s appeal in this particular case, as it was not their fault.
