Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have been playing the team game all season long in a bid to end Ferrari’s championship drought. As a chance has emerged to do so by beating McLaren, the Ferrari duo had a bit of a skirmish at the Las Vegas GP — which could have compromised their bid for the Constructors’ title — much to Leclerc’s annoyance.
The #16 driver started the race behind Sainz in fourth, but made his way up to P2 and was even in the hunt for the race lead. However, as his tires started graining earlier than expected, Leclerc had to make an early pit stop, which dropped him down the order.
As the race unfolded, Leclerc and Sainz once again came to head while battling for P3, as the Monegasque came just ahead of his teammate after his second stop. His engineer told him on the radio that they had deployed instructions to Sainz about not overtaking him while conserving his tires.
But Sainz — who had lost ground to Lewis Hamilton during his second stop — passed Leclerc anyway. Naturally, the #16 driver wasn’t willing to accept this, as he made a snarky comment on the radio: “Maybe, try in Spanish”.
As the chequered flag fell, Leclerc expressed his frustration in detail in an exchange with his race engineer.
“I did my job, but being nice f**ks me over all the f***ing time, all the f***ing time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful. I know I need to shut up, but at one point it’s always the same, so…oh my f***ing god”, he said.
Yeah, I did my job, but being nice fucks me over all the fucking time, all the fucking time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful. I know I need to shut up, but at one point it’s always the same, so…oh my fucking god.pic.twitter.com/SksToinKjI
— 에클레어 (@sharr__leclerc) November 24, 2024
Sainz, who finished on the podium eventually, wasn’t as concerned about his battle with Leclerc. His main issue during the race was his tire struggles, as he highlighted that he expected the medium tires to be more durable than only eight or nine laps as it turned out.
Sainz and Leclerc could forget Las Vegas battle for the bigger goal
The Ferrari driver duo have had such battles often during their four-year stint at Maranello. Moreover, with Sainz set to leave the team in 2025, they would ideally want to focus on winning the constructors’ title, which is a highly likely possibility with two race weekends left.
Ferrari have closed the points deficit to McLaren, as they stand only 24 points behind them after the Las Vegas GP. The 3-4 finish by Sainz and Leclerc adds to the good run of form they have experienced since the Italian GP this season.
Even if Sainz and Leclerc had avoided stepping on each other’s toes in Vegas, they would have finished in the same positions with Mercedes a cut above the rest in cooler conditions.
They also understand that winning the title this season would be a perfect ending to their time together as teammates. So, as they have done previously, the Ferrari duo would want to sweep this battle under the carpet to focus on beating McLaren in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
