Charles Leclerc Enjoys Comfort During the Austrian GP at the Expense of His “Frustrated” Ferrari Teammate Carlos Sainz

The Ferrari F1 team had a mixed weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix as both their drivers had contrasting results. Charles Leclerc grabbed his second podium of the season by finishing second, while Carlos Sainz only managed to finish sixth.

Following an outstanding race for him, Leclerc thanked Sainz for defending extremely well against Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who was registering some quick lap times towards the end of the race. As for Sainz, he expressed his frustrations at Ferrari’s strategy after the race as he felt that he paid the price for playing the “team game“.

It feels good to be back in the podium. We’ll work flat out to be back on the top step as soon as possible 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/m06SHKPUUA

— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) July 2, 2023

This is because the Spaniard felt that the team cost him a potential podium finish by executing a poor strategy for the race. Sainz believes that had he not lost three places at the beginning of the race, he could have easily had a far better result for himself and for the team.

Charles Leclerc thanks Carlos Sainz for helping him finish second

Following the conclusion of the Austrian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was all praises for his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. The Monegasque believes that his teammate did an outstanding job to give him some breathing space from a fast approaching Sergio Perez.

While speaking to Sky Sports F1, Leclerc said, “Carlos did a great job for that. I was aware Checo was coming. I didn’t know how quickly he will pass Carlos, so I was trying to manage the hards to push whenever he was getting in front of Carlos. But Carlos made my life a bit easier by doing a great defence. I could see all of it on the screen which was quite exciting and that was good“.

Wrapping up a solid weekend for the team 👊 thanks for everyone’s support! 🙏 #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pmhbTSD0iP

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 2, 2023

With Sainz defending hard against Perez, the Mexican finished a comfortable 12 seconds behind Leclerc. And as a result of Leclerc finishing second in the race, he was also able to leapfrog George Russell in the championship to sixth. As for Sainz, he continues to remain in fifth.

Carlos Sainz slams Ferrari for costing him a potential podium

While Charles Leclerc was all smiles after finishing second, Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari was far from happy. The Spaniard expressed his frustrations in his post-race interview and slammed his team for costing him a potential podium.

While speaking to Sky Sports F1, Sainz explained how his gap of four-tenths to Leclerc increased to six or seven seconds because of Ferrari’s poor decision to pit him at the same time as the Monegasque. Because of how things panned out for him, the 28-year-old felt disappointed for playing the “team game“.

Considering how quick Sainz was during the early stages, Ferrari may regret pitting him at the same time as Leclerc under the virtual safety car. Since Ferrari was double stacking, Sainz lost out massively as he had to slow down behind Leclerc.

And as a result of the same, he lost three places that completely compromised his race. Following a frustrating Austrian GP for him, Sainz will now hope for a better result at the upcoming British Grand Prix, a race which he won last year.