Rules have to change, say Verstappen and Leclerc as Carlos Sainz admits to feeling let down by the sport over unfair penalty.

Along with those poor fans ejected from the track in the moments before FP2 got underway in the early hours of Friday morning, the other big loser as a result of the organisers' incompetence was Carlos Sainz who incurred a 10-place grid penalty for taking on a new energy store even though his old one was wrecked by a loose drain cover.

When handing out the penalty the stewards admitted that if they’d had the authority to grant a derogation in what they considered to be "mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances", they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow for such action.

Furthermore it is understood that had they given the Spaniard a 'free pass', rival teams may well have protested the move.

Speaking after qualifying for the front row alongside his Ferrari teammate, though the penalty means he will actually start from the sixth row, the Spaniard admitted to feeling let down by the sport, while his colleagues say the rules have to change.

"The thing speaks for itself, no?" said Sainz, when asked if he thought it wrong that he is taking the rap for the FIA's error. "There was clearly a safety issue at the track. That safety issue destroyed my car, my mechanics had to invest five hours in putting together a completely new car. And on top of that, we get a 10-place grid penalty for something that we have nothing to do for.

"Just simply disappointed," he continued, "at the same time not surprised because there's been many cases this year that I think the sport has proven that it can do things a lot better.

"And yeah, I think I'm surprised that the governing body doesn't have the power to - in cases of force majeure - to let's say overrule a bit in this kind of situation where it's so clear: that this is something that is completely out of the team control, completely out of the driver control.

"But I don't know the rules, the governing body, the teams, I don't know, I expected more from the sport in this situation but for some reason, yeah, for sure there will be rival teams pushing for me to get a penalty, which surprises me in a way. In another, I've been in this sport for too long to understand that it's business, and there's too much money involved in the finishing position in the constructors' or whatever for a team not to threaten to apply for a penalty for me.

"At the same time, as I said, I'm not surprised. I'm extremely disappointed and honestly very just upset with the whole situation, with the sport. Honestly, just upset I think is the right word and in a bad mood because I just expected more from the sport in this case."

"The rules have to change," said Max Verstappen. "It's the same if you get taken out and you have a big accident. You can lose parts of engine, energy store, all these kinds of things. So, first of all, that needs to change.

"These things can be taken into consideration, that if you can take a free, let's say, penalty or not and it will not be counted. And besides that, I think the teams should not be allowed to have a say in these kind of things. Because for sure they're going to vote against that.

"Personally, I do think it's very harsh on Carlos, but in this political environment that we are in, of course every team thinks about themselves and they, of course, are going to say no, he has to take the penalty."

"You have everything," agreed Charles Leclerc.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by dejan, 18/11/2023 21:38

"Rules are rules but at the same time there has to be a place to make a reasonable exception - this time the FIA and the stewards blew it."

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2. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 18/11/2023 20:56

"Rumor has it Merc (which they denied) pushed for the penalty, considering they are in direct competition with Ferrari in the standings I wouldn't put it past Toto, he's all about the cloak and dagger.

The three stooges (FIA, LVGP and Liberty) s**t the bed on this. I've mentioned before there should be a standard rule for securing drain covers in a specific, tried and tested method for all street circuits. In the same way they have it for fencing and barriers. "

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3. Posted by rambler, 18/11/2023 18:36

"The stewards couldn't have checked the track before the race? To busy with the champagne and clavier?"

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4. Posted by Kkiirmki, 18/11/2023 18:14

"$500 million to stage this event, and the couldn't have bought a few welding torches for a couple of grand?"

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Sainz expected more from the sport over 'drain penalty'

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