“I'm gonna show you a manhole”: Carlos Sainz’s unfiltered response to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc’s cheeky jibe

Carlos Sainz hilariously responded to Charles Leclerc's cheeky jibe about the Las Vegas track's manhole before the race weekend in the Sin City. This back-and-forth was regarding the manhole incident Sainz suffered in Vegas last year.

Back in 2023, Carlos Sainz suffered major damage to his Ferrari, eight minutes into the first practice session. This was because a manhole cover on the track was dislodged from its place and hit Sainz's car when he passed over it.

Since the Vegas track was built around actual roads, they were slightly uneven and had manholes that the track workers carefully covered. Unfortunately, one of them was not covered properly enough, causing the entire session to stop and ruining the Spaniard's session.

Fast forward to 2024, and F1 returns to the Las Vegas GP for the second time after its inaugural race in 2023. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were seen enjoying a head-to-head race against each other on simulators at the Las Vegas track before the race weekend. A clip of them enjoying the race was recently shared. In the middle of the race, Leclerc jokingly said where the manhole was, cheekily reminding Sainz about last year's incident.

"That is where the manhole is," Leclerc said.

Responding to this, Carlos Sainz smiled and said that he would show Leclerc a manhole. The Spaniard then crashed into the Monegasque's car hard as the latter was braking for a corner.

"I'm going to show you a manhole!" Sainz laughed.

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When Carlos Sainz received a grid penalty for repairs after the manhole incident in 2023 Las Vegas GP

Going back to 2023, the manhole incident was horrendous for Carlos Sainz, not because of the accident, but the consequences he faced after it.

After Sainz's car suffered major damage, Ferrari asked the FIA to allow them to change the energy store on the car without incurring a penalty. This request, however, was rejected by the FIA, and the Spaniard was given a 10-place grid penalty at the 2023 Las Vegas GP. Sainz learned about the penalty mid-session in FP2, which massively dampened his enthusiasm for the rest of the weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Carlos Sainz said:

"Unfortunately, as the session finished, the team communicated to me that I was taking a 10-place grid penalty for something that I have no fault, and the team have no fault,"

"That changed completely my mindset and my opinion on the weekend and how it's going to go from now on. I'm disappointed and in disbelief with the situation. You will not see me very happy this weekend."

After the grid penalty, Sainz started the race from P12 but managed to finish the race in P6. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc started from pole position and finished second in the 2023 Las Vegas GP.