"You would be upset in my situation": Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur's terse reply to Toto Wolff about Carlos Sainz's damaged car

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur gave Toto Wolff a stern reply during the 2023 Las Vegas GP team principal’s conference. Disheartened at the damage to Carlos Sainz’s car from the drain hole cover incident in FP1, the Austrian interrupted the Frenchman, which resulted in the latter reminding the former that he would feel the same if he were in a similar situation.

The Mercedes chief and the Ferrari chief are pretty close friends off the track but are fierce rivals on it. In the first free practice, a loose manhole drain cover hit Sainz’s car, causing severe damage to the floor, suspension, gearbox, and engine. This required the driver to take a ten-place grid drop for the race.

The Maranello squad had requested the FIA to allow the replacement of the damaged components without a penalty considering the unusual circumstances. However, their request was rejected, leaving the Spanish driver and Vasseur infuriated.

Reacting to Wolff’s interruption during the press conference, the Ferrari chief said:

"You would be upset in my situation."

Further expressing his views on the incident, Vasseur said:

"Yeah guys, I’m not sure that is the topic for me today. We had a very tough FP1. This will cost us a fortune. We f****d-up the session for Carlos. We won’t be part of the FP2 for sure. We have to change the chassis out of the car, to set-up the car. OK, the show is the show and everything is going well but I think it’s just unacceptable for the F1 today."

According to Vasseur, it was a disappointing decision from F1 considering the unforeseen and unusual circumstances that cost the team. Given the budget cap era of the sport, severe damage can cost heavily in monetary terms. It can, of course, be compensated, if the circumstances warrant it.

Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was damaged to the extent that the track below could be seen from the cockpit. Despite the frustrations, a 90-minute delay to the practice session allowed the Spaniard to be a part of the second free practice. The Maranello team drivers topped the second practice with Charles Leclerc setting the fastest lap of the session, followed by Sainz.

At a Grand Prix where the scarlet squad is strong in pace and rivals Red Bull are struggling, a grid penalty may not help them, given that qualifying is going to be extremely important. Their Milton Keynes rivals are struggling with the temperatures and low grip, making it vitally important for Ferrari to capitalize on the opportunity at hand.

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Ferrari boss believes that F1 should not allow showmanship to overshadow the sporting side

Disappointed with the FP1 incident, Ferrari boss Vasseur was trying to be his optimistic best regarding the Las Vegas GP. The Frenchman believes that although drain covers coming off has been a normal issue at street circuits, the sport needed to be more vigilant of the sporting side, alongside putting on a show.

The Frenchman felt the incident could have been more damaging, given the speed of the F1 cars at the street circuit. The Maranello chief also felt that the Las Vegas GP would set new standards of showmanship and entertainment in the sport.

Asked to comment on the debacle of a canceled practice session after the hype around the event, the Ferrari boss said:

"I'm still convinced that the event is mega for the F1. As James said before, this happened in Monaco couple of years ago. I remember Baku 2019. I remember that we had a couple of occasions like this. But again, I was already convinced before FP1 that the event was mega for F1 and I'm still convinced of that and we have to continue in this direction.

"I remember also at Zandvoort, when they started to have the music into the grandstand, everybody had to copy them the race after, and I think probably we will do a step forward in the right direction, from Vegas. And everybody perhaps won't be at the same standard but we'll go in this direction in terms of show and entertainment and so on.

"But we have to take care of the sporting side. It's a completely different story. And it's not because you are doing a show that you know what I mean… For sure I'm frustrated. I'm also scared because Carlos hit a metallic part at 320 kph and it could have been much worse."

Ferrari are likely to look very strong at the Las Vegas circuit, given the cooler temperatures at night. With an overheating problem that has bothered them throughout the season, cooler weather makes it easier for them to reduce tire degradation and perform better.

A strong performance in Nevada could help them oust Mercedes from second place in the constructor’s championship by Abu Dhabi. The Maranello squad are trailing the Brackley squad by a narrow margin of 20 points with only two races left on the calendar.