Las Vegas organizers reveal 'new protocols' to avoid drain cover incidents after Carlos Sainz crash in 2023

Today at 10:06 AM

To prevent a similar incident to Carlos Sainz’s in 2023, the Las Vegas GP has made modifications to the notorious “killer” manhole cover.

During the 2023 Las Vegas GP free practice, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari accidentally hit a manhole cover placed in the middle of the track. The incident cost the Maranello team dearly, which had to pay a large sum to repair the car.

This year things are changing. To avoid a similar situation, the Las Vegas GP organizers have made changes to the track.

According to Motorsport, a significant number of manhole covers or other similar objects have been paved over. Others, however, have been reinforced with a much wider and heavier anchoring block to keep them in place.

Since the circuit mostly uses public roads, the organizers could not pave all the relevant covers. In fact, being a city circuit, residents need access to water valves and other services each time it is reopened to the public. In this case, a reinforced construction was used.

Other small changes to the circuit involve the realignment of barriers at the fast pit lane entrance.

“After what happened last year, I hope everything will be fine,” said Carlos Sainz on the eve of the Las Vegas weekend. “This year I think it will go better for the race and, of course, for the safety of all the drivers.”

Ferrari arrives in Las Vegas as the favorite. “We can’t wait. It’s a cold weekend and a track different from the ones we’re used to,” continued Carlos Sainz. “Low aerodynamic load, low grip, so many different variables we’re not normally used to. There are a lot of challenges ahead, just like last year. I’m excited for this.”

In an effort to prevent a repeat of last year’s issues, Terry Miller, the general manager of the Las Vegas GP, outlined the updated protocols that have been introduced for this year’s event in an interview with The Athletic. While the promoter of the Las Vegas GP has already adjusted the schedule for practice and qualifying, Miller emphasized that a set of new measures have been implemented specifically to address and avoid any potential disruptions, ensuring that the weekend runs smoothly without encountering the same problems as before.

"Due to what occurred last year, we do have, in fact, a protocol and a process that we've gone through over the last five months to secure the lids, even to the point where we will do three or four visual checks of what's going on in the roadway before and after a race event," said Terry Miller. "You can never guarantee that nothing is going to happen. But you can certainly have the mitigating efforts in place to reduce the risk, and that's what we've done."

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