“He is also here for the benefit of the team” – Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz motivated to bring Ferrari back to the top, after a disastrous 2020 campaign.
Charles Leclerc was consistent last season despite Ferrari massively underperforming. This season, he is more confident about the Ferrari improvements. All in all, he would be looking to better Ferrari’s last season’s P6.
“There has been a lot of work. We have been pushing quite a lot. It always looks positive on paper but then we need to see what the others have done as a step.”
Charles Leclerc also conceded that he hasn’t been to Maranello too often this season. He is optimistic about this season though, as the team looks to address major issues.
“I have never been in [the] Ferrari [factory as much] as before this season. We have been doing quite a bit of tests with the old car. I feel very ready. I have been working in a similar way as in the past, trying to understand what were my weaknesses last year.
“I still believe tyre management is something I should push. I improved a lot last year and I hope there will be another step this year.”
Introducing your 2021 @ScuderiaFerrari line-up of @Carlossainz55 and @Charles_Leclerc 👊#F1 pic.twitter.com/SeosUa1u24
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26, 2021
Carlos Sainz vs Charles Leclerc at Ferrari
Leclerc is willing to challenge Carlos Sainz for the betterment of the team. The competitive rivalry will be there, and so will be the cooperation when it matters.
“It is very clear we need to push for the team. Carlos wants to beat me and I want to beat him too. We will try to be careful when we fight each other on track.
Carlos Sainz, on his part, isn’t too confident of beating Leclerc in his first stint. This essentially allows Leclerc to be the leader of the team. Sainz has big ambitions though, the main one being to become a world champion this decade, preferably with Ferrari.
“In five years, my target is to be world champion. I believe Ferrari is the right place to achieve that. We just need a bit of time to make it happen.”