Carlos Sainz’s home race did not go as he had hoped. An unfortunate altercation with his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, resulted in a collision during Lap 66 while battling for fifth place. Leclerc was furious about the incident. In the post-race conference, the Monegasque shared,
“I understand it’s his home race and a very important moment of his career, so I guess he wanted to do something spectacular, but I probably wasn’t the right person to do that with.”
Carlos Sainz breaks Charles Leclerc’s promise
According to Charles, the on-track skirmish led to the breaking of a pre-race agreement:
“It wasn’t the moment to fight. After the briefing, we agreed we had to save the tyres. I did, but Sainz didn’t.”
which the Spaniard had a few words to share: “Charles wasn’t happy with me? For me, it was clear: we had a new soft, and we had to attack. I don’t know what happened to him in the first lap, but I couldn’t stay behind him all my life. I don’t know what he’s complaining about this time.”
The private conversation between Carlos Sainz & Charles Leclerc
During the media press for this week’s Austrian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was asked about how his relationship with Carlos Sainz going forward is affected, and he explained:
“For our relationship, not at all… We know that after the race there is tension, we are both in the heat of the moment, disappointed with each other, then we speak together and we are good. So I have absolutely no [worries].”
It’s clear that Charles and Carlos have talked things out along with the Ferrari team. They are now focusing on improving their pace for the Austrian Grand Prix. The internal harmony within the team appears to be intact despite the recent incident.
The title fight slips away from Charles Leclerc’s hands
The damage to Leclerc’s front wing kept him stuck in fifth place for the rest of the race. This unfortunate event led to him falling to third place in the driver’s championship, with Lando Norris moving up in the standings. Moreover, Leclerc now trails the championship leader Max Verstappen by a significant 77 points.
Charles Leclerc on his incident with Carlos Sainz during the Spanish Grand Prix
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 23, 2024
“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 opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/9hSUpdqqsz
This gap is proving difficult to overcome, especially with Verstappen in top form and the McLarens consistently clinching podiums and points. Leclerc’s frustration is understandable, given the circumstances.
The question now is whether Ferrari can improve their pace during the Austrian Grand Prix and secure a podium finish to reduce the points gap. The team faces a challenging task ahead as they work to close the gap to the frontrunners in the championship standings.
Rohit Kumar