Carlos Sainz's pole start at the 2022 F1 United States Grand Prix was ruined after he had to retire from the race on the very first lap.
The very opening lap of the US GP at Circuit of The Americas saw chaos on Turn 1 as Max Verstappen had a much better start than Sainz and made his way through the first corner. There was more bad luck coming down the Spaniard's way, however, as he was tagged by George Russell and spun, losing places and falling to the bottom of the order.
Carlos Sainz drove into the pits, which fans thought was a tire and front wing change. His car, however, was taken in and he retired from the race. It was soon revealed that when Russell collided with Sainz, the latter's car suffered an apparent "water leak," due to which Ferrari had to retire the Spaniard's car. There were high expectations from Sainz as this was the third pole position of his career, but all the efforts went in vain after the unfortunate incident at the very first corner.
Fans react to Carlos Sainz's early DNF in 2022 F1 US GP
After Carlos Sainz's DNF was confirmed, fans were quick to react on Twitter. Most have blamed his luck as the season has been tough for him in terms of completing the races. Here are some of the best reactions to his early retirement:
"HAHAHAHAHAHA SAINZ A mockery. As always."
"sainz has no luck man impressive."
Red Bull's chances of clenching the constructors' title have increased with Sainz's DNF. The team has to steer 19 points clear of Ferrari in the race to win the title in Austin.
A race in COTA is generally won by front row starters, and so, there were high expectations from Sainz. Charles Leclerc, however, is now the only Ferrari driver remaining in the race, who started P12 after a grid penalty and is running in the top 5 at the moment.
Meanwhile, George Russell was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision with Sainz, which he served in his first pit stop.