When Carlos Sainz joined Charles Leclerc at Ferrari three years ago, it seemed like the Maranello outfit had signed two of the most easy-going drivers on the entire grid, negating the chances of witnessing a heated teammate rivalry. And rightfully so, the camaraderie between the duo was at its peak until the end of 2023. However, this year has been anything but pleasant for both Sainz and Leclerc, with their rivalry on the verge of taking a turn for the worse.
With pretty much nothing to lose and a lot to gain, Sainz has been the aggressor at Ferrari, desperately seeking opportunities to prove himself as a valuable driver to other teams. Meanwhile, Leclerc has stuck to playing the team game. Unfortunately, this contrasting approach to race weekends, or should we say Sainz’s desperation, has taken a hefty toll on their relationship.
Carlos Sainz not sounding *overly* happy over team radio: pic.twitter.com/jzMeHwfBUX
— The Race (@wearetherace) June 23, 2024
The recently concluded Spanish Grand Prix was one such weekend and Leclerc has publicly acknowledged his disappointment in Sainz.
What really happened between the two Ferrari drivers at Spanish GP?
The Monegasque openly confessed that both the drivers had planned out a strategy ahead of the race. However, surprisingly enough, Sainz ignored the plan and decided to hunt down his cruising teammate at the most unanticipated moment, causing a nail-biting battle for position for position into the first corner of lap 3.
🚨 | Charles Leclerc had some strong words for Carlos Sainz after the Spanish Grand Prix. 👀
“We had a clear strategy at the beginning of the race with both to save tyres to attack later on,” Leclerc explained.
“Carlos didn’t do any saving in Turn 14 and of course had an… pic.twitter.com/JPwP8uKg21
— Motorsport Hour (@MotorsportHour) June 23, 2024
Sainz looked for a move around the outside of turn 1, but Leclerc was always going to close the door on the Spaniard. Subsequently, Sainz was forced to take the escape road but somehow ended up ahead of Leclerc going into turn 3. Soon enough, Leclerc complained on the radio and so did Sainz, blaming each other for the contact.
Charles Leclerc unhappy with Sainz’s aggression
Leclerc reckoned that Sainz was trying to deliver something spectacular for his home fans after the three-time race winner nearly took both the Ferrari drivers out of the race in Barcelona. Here’s what Leclerc has to say about the lap 3 incident at the Spanish Grand Prix.
We had a clear strategy at the beginning of the race with both to save tyres to attack later on. Carlos didn’t do any saving in Turn 14 and of course had an opportunity to overtake me in Turn 1, which is a bit of a shame because we lost time between us. I damaged my front wing because of Carlos making the turn and not seeing I was inside and that made our race more difficult.
I didn’t understand the point of doing that when it was clearly stated before the race that we had to save in this part of the race. It’s a bit unnecessary, but I also understand that it’s his home race and it’s also an important moment of his career so I guess he wanted to do something a bit spectacular. But I probably wasn’t the right person to do that with.
Overall, Ferrari has produced a second consecutive weekend of underwhelming performance since flying high in Monaco earlier this month. On top of that, there’s a bit of tension building between Sainz and Leclerc. Therefore, will Fred Vasseur finally implement team orders from the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix?
Sara Chavan