Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had a rough time being teammates in China, and there is a possibility of a feud between them. Amid a multi-car battle, both Ferrari drivers collided with each other during the Sprint race in Shanghai. Leclerc was not happy on his team radio, seeing his teammate’s maneuvers. However, Nicholas Todt, a Ferrari insider, debunked the myth as he went on to reveal the whole truth.
Ted Kravitz and Nico Rosberg from Sky Sports F1 were discussing how things did not look great between the two Ferrari drivers after their wheel-to-wheel tussles in the sprint race. Therefore, they expected the possibility for them to go into a squabble.
Rosberg asked Todt, “Talking about Charles and Carlos, did they handshake and everything happy days?” In reply, the Frenchman said, “Kiss in the mouth, every single day!” To get more assurance, the 2016 F1 champion once again asked, “Big kiss?… Happy days?”
Todt did not disappoint here as well as he confirmed, “Big kiss… Happy days.” Notably, Nicholas Todt is the son of the former Ferrari and the FIA boss, Jean Todt. However, here, his importance lies in the fact that he manages Leclerc.
And he shall probably know the inside talk between the Ferrari drivers, as this is not the first time Sainz and Leclerc have collided or battled hard against each other. The 2023 Italian GP is a classic example of how the duo battled to the extent of a possible crash happening in the final few laps at Monza.
However, as the dust settled on that tussle, Leclerc and Sainz had a talk along with Frederic Vasseur to settle their differences and unite together as a team again. So, it makes sense why Todt is confident that the Scuderia’s drivers will again sort this matter out after the Chinese GP weekend concludes.
What’s next for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz?
After showing signs of improvements in Australia and Japan, hopes were high on Ferrari ahead of the Chinese GP Sprint. However, the Italian outfit performed below their expectations when they finished the Sprint in P4 [Leclerc] and P5 [Sainz], respectively.
Following this, it would have been wise for both drivers to move past this and carry on with the Grand Prix preparation, but it was only just Leclerc. Both Leclerc and Sainz gave different opinions on their aforementioned talks, indicating they may not be on the same page yet.
The Monegasque, not willing to dig deep, said to the press, “The discussions went well, and we are all fine.” Meanwhile, Sainz, on the other hand, revealed, “The reality is that we didn’t manage to talk.”
All in all, one can conclude that Carlos Sainz’s departure at the end of the season leaves him no choice but to go hard at Charles Leclerc at every opportunity. He needs to show the prospective teams about his caliber to secure a seat for 2025. However, Leclerc would also not want to take a back seat, if the Spaniard races him hard week in, week out.
