“Fascinating controlling Leclerc and young Carlito” – Martin Brundle expects the wonderful team chemistry between Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to be put to the test this season.
Ferrari had a much-improved season last year – finishing P3 – after a disastrous P6 the previous season. The result was helped by the brilliant team chemistry between Charles Leclerc and recruit from McLaren, Carlos Sainz.
But with Ferrari looking like a title-winning contender this season, former driver and Sky F1 expert Martin Brundle expects the duo to have a few tetchy moments, something unseen in their first season together.
“For me, the car that looks the most settled on circuit is the Ferrari at the moment.
“They have had a very strong testing period so far both in Barcelona and Bahrain. I would say they have looked extremely competitive on track.
“If that Ferrari is a race-winning proposition then it will be fascinating controlling Leclerc and young Carlito (Sainz) because they are pretty even Stevens,
“We saw them last year – quite feisty together, they are respectful, they know who their employer is and their paymaster, but if there’s a sniff of race victories or the championship, that will get very competitive between the drivers.”
Carlos Sainz bracing himself for a tricky Bahrain GP
Sainz is confident of a good showing in the season-opening Bahrain GP. At the same time, though, he expects the track to pose quite a few challenges, especially down to the warm weather.
“It feels, in Bahrain, let’s say a bit worse than in Barcelona. Because it is a lot warmer and the tarmac has a lot less grip. It feels a lot trickier to drive in Bahrain than in Barcelona but this is normal, we have this every year.
“The car in the corners feels different to last year, but it also feels like we are doing progress and we know better what to do after every lap.”
