Ferrari has faced many accusations of favoring their golden boy Charles Leclerc over Carlos Sainz regarding strategy calls. However, Frederic Vasseur has hit out against the accusations and claimed that only Red Bull favors their drivers, and Ferrari doesn’t operate that way.
There have been many instances where Sainz has been compromised to favor Leclerc. Throughout the two and half years that Sainz has spent with the Maranello outfit, he has only been able to win only one race, compared to the five won by Leclerc.
The Hungarian GP was the latest example of this controversy. This time, Sainz spoke out against the team and accused them of compromising his race because they had messed up Leclerc’s pit stop. Sainz ended up finishing P8 after having a strong start to the race.
Ferrari Boss launches counter-attack at Red Bull
However, team principal Frederic Vasseur has always maintained that this is not the case. In a recent interview with Corriere Dello Sport, as reported by GPBlog, Vasseur was asked what he feels about the accusations regarding him favoring Leclerc.
Vasseur said, “No, no. Don’t put [Helmut] Marko’s words in my mouth! I’ve never, really never, said or done anything like that.” He explained that when he stepped into Formula 1 20 years ago, he came up with the idea that all drivers deserve equal treatment, and he believes the same now as well.
The Ferrari boss then attacked Red Bull and said, “Both drivers are equal in all teams, except at Red Bull, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez.”
Carlos Sainz pledges his loyalty
This is not the first time Vasseur has spoken about treating both Leclerc and Sainz equally. In a previous interview with Corriere Dello Sport, Vasseur explained how Sainz is a key part of the team.
He said, “I am satisfied with Carlos, he is regular and gives important technical indications.” He also mentioned that he sees Sainz as an important part of the long-term project at Ferrari.
As for Carlos Sainz, he also spoke about how he feels about Ferrari. Sainz explained that his priority is to stay with Ferrari. According to the Spaniard, he and Ferrari have the same goal of fighting for the championship, which makes their partnership perfect.
