F1 boss Toto Wolff rages after Gully-Gate in Las Vegas
Formula 1 wants Las Vegas, it gets Las Vegas. The "Greatest Show on Earth" begins with a scandal involving a flying manhole cover that attacks Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. The best news: he remains unharmed. And anyway: it's not all that bad, says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and rages.
At that moment, the "Greatest Show on Earth" was nothing more than a pipe-dream, and Formula 1 was a little thin-skinned. Toto Wolff became loud, gesticulating wildly, because someone had just expressed clear doubts about the success of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
"How dare you," shouted the head of motorsport at Mercedes, "talk like that about an event that sets a new standard for this sport, that will make the whole sport bigger!"
For weeks and months, Formula 1 had proclaimed this race to be the ultimate event, that everyone should watch it - but those who did saw a wrecked Ferrari just eight minutes into the first practice session, hit hard by a flying manhole cover on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The show was over for the time being before it had really begun. The second session took place two and a half hours late at 2.30 a.m., with a reworked track but no fans, as the grandstands were already closed. This kick-off was an embarrassing failure in front of the eyes of the world. And it was, of course, fuel for those who already harbor doubts about the meaning of the pompous appearance in the streets of Las Vegas.
"Nobody will be talking about it tomorrow"
There were also positive things to report: Carlos Sainz was unharmed, and that was not to be taken for granted. He had been racing at 320 km/h over the cover of the channel when it came loose and hit the underbody of the Ferrari with great force.
All of this could only be seen in clips that were withheld from TV viewers around the world: Formula 1 World Direction decided not to show the images. Instead, they showed aerial shots of the impressive track around the brightly lit casinos. The racing series hoped that these scenes would provide a huge marketing boost, but wanted to avoid a fundamental debate about its new Las Vegas flagship project.
This is how Wolff's outburst was to be understood; the Austrian did not want to attach too much importance to the actual incident. "It's not a black eye, it's nothing," he said: "It's Thursday evening in Vegas, people in Europe aren't even watching at this time of night. Nobody will be talking about it tomorrow."
Ferrari also appeased
Zak Brown (McLaren) and James Vowles (Williams) also pointed out that there have been similar incidents at other city races such as Monaco and Baku. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, although visibly angry about the total loss of Sainz's car, also had nothing bad to say about the new race and the circumstances surrounding it.
"They screwed up on the sporting side," he said, referring to the sealing of the channels: "But that has nothing to do with the show. I still believe that Las Vegas is great for Formula 1."
However, the fact that this greatest possible failure at the season opener now happened at the greatest possible height had somehow to do with the hustle and bustle that the premier class had previously created around the Grand Prix. And Wednesday in Las Vegas had already suggested that the sporting core of Formula 1 and the commitment to the show would collide again and again. It was still only "1 percent sporting event", said world champion Max Verstappen. He felt "like a clown" at the opening ceremony.
Sainz must be punished
Carlos Sainz must have felt the same way. After all, he was the involuntary protagonist at this memorable Formula 1 opener in Las Vegas - and is now being punished for it. The stewards announced on Friday night that the regulations do not allow any exceptions.
Due to the replacement of the energy storage unit in his destroyed Ferrari, the Spaniard will be moved back ten places on the grid for the race on Sunday German time (7am/Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de).
"The stewards note that, given the extenuating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have granted an exception had they been authorized to do so," the official document on the decision read: "However, the regulations do not allow this."
In addition to the energy storage unit, the flying manhole cover also irreparably damaged the survival cell, the combustion engine and the control electronics. The new energy storage unit is already the third of the season, which resulted in the penalty according to the regulations.
Source: www.ntv.de
