Carlos Sainz slams critics, stands by Zak Brown's star amid 2024 season challenges
Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris’ bromance from the McLaren days continues to be the benchmark for relationships between teammates in F1. Following the 2024 Hungarian GP team orders at McLaren, Norris was criticized for not being a team player. However, after the Brit gave away his sprint win to Oscar Piastri in Qatar, Sainz came out and stood by the McLaren star.
Sainz said (via grandprix.com):
“They are teammates, so it's probably a little easier to do that between teammates. But the truth is that they did well and they also deserve credit for having given Oscar back his position from Brazil.
“It says a lot about Lando as a driver and as a person, despite the criticism he receives. People like to criticize what he does, but then the guy keeps delivering and is a gentleman on and off the track, so congratulations.”
Norris left it until the last lap in Hungary to give Piastri the race win. Earlier this season, as the drivers' championship fight got tighter, McLaren decided that Piastri would be helping Norris at every possible Grand Prix.
As a result, Oscar Piastri let Norris by at the 2024 Brazilian GP Sprint with hopes of keeping the championship alive. However, Max Verstappen finished ahead of Norris in Las Vegas and won the championship. Nonetheless, the Briton did not forget the sacrifice made by the Aussie.
As a result, he gave the 2024 Qatar Sprint win to Piastri. Yet many still criticized Norris for his actions from the past. Sainz, who has a great relationship with Norris hence came out and silenced all the critics by calling the McLaren driver a “gentleman” and highlighting his gesture during the Sprint race.
Carlos Sainz was also criticized for his bond with Charles Leclerc and the Spaniard came out to silence those critics as well.
“People believe it's not true”: Carlos Sainz opened up about his relationship with Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had some issues at the 2024 Las Vegas GP after the Spaniard failed to follow team orders. The Monegasque driver put his frustration to words on the team radio after the race ended. However, coming into Qatar, the duo suggested that the matter has been internally discussed and the air has been cleared. Yet, some believed that the positive relationship between Sainz and Leclerc showcased by Ferrari is for PR.
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 only has a couple of races left with Leclerc as his teammate before he makes the move to Williams and Lewis Hamilton replaces him at Ferrari.