Carlos Sainz is more than satisfied with the fantastic partnership he currently shares with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard believes that they push each other extremely well as they are often within just half a tenth of each other. Although the 29-year-old believes he shares a strong relationship with the Monegasque, he made it clear that he will never be afraid to “bite” if he senses an opportunity, in a conversation with DAZN Spain.
As quoted by racingnews365.nl, Sainz said, “I bite when I see an opportunity to bite and keep quiet when I have to keep quiet“. The former McLaren driver then also acknowledged how strong Leclerc is when it comes to single-lap pace.
Sainz said he is happy to have such a strong teammate as Leclerc as he knows that the 26-year-old will push him to the limit each time they get on the track. The Spaniard then concluded his remarks by stating that such “healthy competition” between them is also good for Ferrari, who often get the best results as a team when they push each other to the limit.
Since Leclerc and Sainz found the perfect balance of pushing each other to the limit, they also ensured that they put Ferrari’s priorities first ahead of their battle with each other. As a result, the Italian outfit did indeed maximize their points scoring last season. The Prancing Horse finished third in the championship with 406 points, just three points behind second-placed Mercedes.
What was most impressive about Ferrari’s performance was that their two drivers arguably had the closest gap as teammates. Leclerc finished fifth in the championship with 206 points and just outscored seventh-placed Sainz by six points.
Ferrari will always treat Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz “equally“
Despite all the widespread speculations over the past few seasons about who is the number one driver at Ferrari, team principal Fred Vasseur has made it clear that his side will always treat both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz “equally“. As quoted by Ferrari News’ X handle, the Frenchman said, “We showed this season that we have more than equal treatment between the drivers“.
| Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, has asserted that there is no ‘number one driver’ at Ferrari:
“We showed this season that we have more than equal treatment between the drivers.”
“One year ago, I had tons of questions about Charles number 1, and Carlos number 2, and blah blah…
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) December 22, 2023
Vasseur then gave the example of the Singapore Grand Prix when Leclerc helped Sainz to clinch Ferrari’s only win of the season. Leclerc, who was starting third on the grid, chose to go for the soft tires to give him the best opportunity to pass George Russell for second place going into the first corner.
The Monegasque chose such a strategy for himself even though it meant that he may suffer towards the later stages of the race because of tire wear. While he did struggle massively for tire wear and finished the race eventually in fourth place, he did more than enough to help Sainz register Ferrari’s all-important more-boosting victory in Singapore.
In this manner, Leclerc proved to the Ferrari fans that he was ready to sacrifice his own race if it meant that the team received a strong result. Sainz himself has shown instances of performing well as a team by adhering to their orders and trusting them.
As a result of the same, Ferrari often managed to optimize their results throughout the 2023 season. Both Leclerc and Sainz will now also hope to collaborate well in 2024 to not only help Ferrari better their championship standings, but also to ensure that they keep the utterly dominant Red Bull on their toes at all times.
