Daniel Ricciardo slams FIA for lack of ‘common sense’ over unfair penalty for Carlos Sainz at the Las Vegas GP

Daniel Ricciardo was not happy to see Carlos Sainz being penalized after the manhole incident at the Las Vegas GP.

Daniel Ricciardo slams FIA for lack of ‘common sense’ over unfair penalty for Carlos Sainz at the Las Vegas GP

Daniel Ricciardo [L], Carlos Sainz [R] (images via IMAGO)

The Las Vegas GP weekend has already been riddled with controversy. Carlos Sainz incurred heavy damage on his SF23 chassis due to a manhole cover on the track. However, FIA did not exempt the Spanish driver despite the circumstances. With Sainz having a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. Now, Daniel Ricciardo has slammed this decision.

The Australian driver believes that the penalty was “not fair” for Carlos Sainz. As the Ferrari driver had no fault of his own for the damage to his car. The 34-year-old even compared this situation to the Brazilian GP. When Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for infringing the floor plank regulations by the smallest of margins.

Ricciardo acknowledged that the stewards must stick to the rulebook. However, the Honey Badger made it clear that this penalty lacked some common sense on behalf of the FIA. Moreover, the 34-year-old insisted that he did not agree with the decision of the Sports governing body. The AlphaTauri driver is one of many in the paddock who are not happy with Sainz’s penalty.

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Ultimately, you stick to the rules, but come on! You would think that they have some common sense.

Daniel Ricciardo told Motorsport-Total.com

Carlos Sainz in disbelief over Las Vegas GP penalty

The Ferrari driver had high expectations for the inaugural Vegas race. Unfortunately, things did not go well for the Spanish driver. Now, Sainz has revealed that he was disappointed to hear that the FIA penalized him for something completely out of his control. Carlos Sainz mentioned that this has changed his perception of the entire race weekend.

Carlos Sainz's car after incurring damage in FP1 at Las Vegas GP
Carlos Sainz’s car after incurring damage in FP1 at Las Vegas GP (image via Autosport)

The 29-year-old claimed that he was in disbelief over this call. Sainz made it clear that he would not be happy for the rest of the weekend. As the Spanish driver now faces the challenge of making his way up the field on Sunday without actually being at fault. Certainly, a disastrous start to the Las Vegas GP for the Ferrari driver.

You can obviously [understand] how disappointed and in disbelief I am with the situation and you will not see me very happy this weekend.

Carlos Sainz said as reported by PlanetF1

Nevertheless, Scuderia Ferrari seems to have a car well-suited for the Las Vegas GP. Carlos Sainz is expected to have decent pace in the race that could help him make up places. However, the 29-year-old would be hoping for the weekend to be over soon to forget about the dismal incident that compromised his entire race.

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