Unseen CCTV footage shows the moment Carlos Sainz's car was destroyed by manhole cover at Las Vegas GP

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz saw his car destroyed by a manhole cover during first practice for F1's Las Vegas Grand Prix - and CCTV footage has shown exactly how it happened.

The Spaniard was forced to stop his car after just eight minutes into the opening practice session of the F1 weekend in Vegas.

The session was quickly red flagged, and did not restart. Second practice was delayed by over three hours as track officials completed necessary checks across the rest of the circuit.

Now, unseen CCTV footage has shown the exact moment Sainz's car ran over the manhole cover - and what happened behind.

You can watch the clip below.

The underside of his Ferrari sets off a plume of what appears to be sparks, which last for a number of seconds after he drives over the cover.

It is certainly a sight to behold - with the most important thing being that the Spanish driver was fine in getting out of the car.

Sainz fortunately got out of the car without injury, although the underfloor of his Ferrari suffered severe damage. Mechanics and engineers have had to work through the night to get the car ready again.

Sainz's onboard camera showed how the Spaniard was travelling at high speed on the long DRS straight on the Vegas Strip Circuit, before appearing to pull his foot off the accelerator.

Then, the car suddenly jolted upwards, with a message appearing on the Ferrari's driver dashboard telling him to stop immediately.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained the extent of the damage on Sainz's car: "He said he hit something on the track, but he didn't know exactly what it was.

"The situation is that we damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it is just unacceptable.

"We had a very tough FP1. This will cost us a fortune [to fix]. We want to be part of FP2 for sure, but we have to change the chassis and the cell of the car. This is just unacceptable."

Sainz wasn't the only driver to see his car damaged by a manhole cover, with Alpine's Esteban Ocon also incurring damage after appearing to run over the same cover.