Footage emerges of F1 organisers 'fixing' Las Vegas GP manhole that caused scary Carlos Sainz crash

Footage has emerged of Las Vegas Grand Prix organisers fixing the track issue that led to Carlos Sainz's crash at the beginning of the F1 weekend.

F1 is racing around the Vegas Strip Circuit for the first time this weekend - but proceedings got off to a disastrous start.

In the opening minutes of the first practice session, Sainz ran over a manhole cover, which destroyed the underside of his Ferrari and forced his team to change the engine, battery and survival cell.

The practice session was immediately red flagged and later cancelled entirely.

During the stoppage, F1 organisers set about fixing the track - and footage has emerged via X user @AlexDoesF1 of the measures they had to take in order to do so.

You can see the footage below.

The footage shows stewards and other on-track personnel filling the holes instead of welding them down - something elaborated on during the live broadcast on Sky Sports.

Naturally, of course, that could bring about some concern if rain was to fall, although it is unclear whether this is a temporary fix or will be addressed further ahead of Friday's qualifying session.

Sainz will take a 10-place grid drop for the race after several parts on his car were changed - leaving the Spaniard already on the back foot heading into the rest of the weekend.

Ferrari had requested special dispensation because of the nature of the incident that led to the engine change, but this was turned down by the FIA.

And speaking after the second practice session, which resulted in a one-two finish for the Italian outfit, Sainz expressed his disappointment at the decision.

He told Sky Sports: "You can obviously imagine how disappointed and in disbelief with the situation I am.

"Yes, there will be opportunities [to overtake]. But as I said, right now I'm just too disappointed with the outcome ... what happened today for me is a very clear example of how this sport can be improved in so many ways.

"FIA, teams, rules that could clearly be applied as force majeure for me not to take a penalty, but somehow people always [find] some ways to make the situation worse for an individual.

"I think in this case, it's my turn to pay the price."