Carlos Sainz makes his feelings known about his relationship with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have cleared the air following the rise of frustrations at the Las Vegas GP. The Spaniard has always spoken highly of his teammate and about their friendship on a personal level. Yet, some believe that the bond between the teammates showcased on social media is just a PR stunt advocated by Ferrari.
Sainz has now come out and made his feelings clear about his relationship with Leclerc. The Spaniard detailed how he has cherished the bond with his Monegasque teammate and will continue to do the same even after he retires from the sport. The Ferrari driver wanted to put an end to the rumors about the bond being a PR stunt.
Carlos Sainz said (via @wearetherace on Instagram):
“I honestly keep seeing sometimes on social media that people believe it's not true and it's all PR. The personal [relationship] has always been really-really good. He's one of those guys that in the future, when I'm not in F1, I'll look back and I'll say 'I'm glad I met him and I'm glad I raced with him.' And in these four years in Ferrari I've enjoyed every single moment with him, even the tough ones”
Sainz and Leclerc have had a few professional disagreements during their time as Ferrari teammates. However, this is bound to happen as both are competing against each other in the championship. A similar disagreement happened at the 2024 Las Vegas GP when Sainz failed to follow the team's orders.
The Spaniard was asked by the team to let Leclerc through on Lap 26 as Sainz's tires started graining. The 30-year-old asked his team to pit him early. While Ferrari processed Sainz's input, the Spaniard kept Leclerc behind which allowed Hamilton to close the gap to the Monegasque. Sainz eventually let his teammate through on Lap 28 and was asked to box the same lap.
Leclerc pitted after Sainz for the final pitstop and came out ahead of the Spaniard. The #55 driver was asked by the team to not pass his teammate. However, as Leclerc managed to get his tires up to temperature, Sainz passed the Monegasque with the help of DRS. These two incidents led to an eruption from the #16 driver after the race.
Nonetheless, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz suggested at the Qatar GP that the issue has been discussed and dealt with internally at Ferrari.
“Learned our lesson”: Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on resolving 2024 Las Vegas GP frustrations
Looking back at the Las Vegas GP team radio between Ferrari and the driver, it is clear that Carlos Sainz failed to follow the team's orders. However, Scuderia also made a few mistakes which included not pitting Sainz when he asked the team to do so. And then pitting Leclerc after Sainz for the final stop and leaving it too close between the drivers. Unfortunately, Leclerc came out worse at the Las Vegas GP. But the matter has been discussed internally with two Ferrari drivers opening up about the same.
Speaking with the media, including Sportskeeda, at the Qatar GP, Carlos Sainz said
“We’ve learned our lessons. We’ve learned that there were mistakes done all around, and we had our discussions, internal discussions, and we managed to do a good job to conclude and to turn the page, which I think is always important.”
Charles Leclerc said (via formula1.com):
“Whatever happened in Vegas we discussed about it and we are all good, which is the most important thing. I had no doubts about that because we’ve always had a really good relationship with Carlos and we’ve had races where sometimes things don’t go exactly the way we want, but the most important thing is that we discuss about it and we go forward.”
Both Sainz and Leclerc are now focused on bringing home the constructors' championship. Ferrari is 24 points behind McLaren with two races to go.