It was a disappointing outing at the 2024 Chinese GP for Ferrari. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished outside the podium places at the chequered flag in P4 and P5, respectively. But, the troubles for the Scuderia are deeper than their results. A first-lap skirmish between Leclerc and Sainz comprised their start and the team were not able to recover from it from there onwards.
During the start, Charles Leclerc squeezed his teammate off the track at the turn 1 right-hander. Speaking of this incident post-race, Sainz was quoted on X (formerly Twitter) as saying, “I’d prefer not to comment, but it’s obviously quite clear that it cost us both positions. So yeah, it didn’t help either of us.”
This little incident, termed as payback for Sainz‘s aggressive move on Leclerc during the Sprint Race by Sky Sports F1 commentator Nico Rosberg, turned out to be costly for the Ferrari duo. Into the snaily turn 2, the likes of George Russell and Nico Hulkenberg jumped the Ferraris.
Team boss, Frederic Vasseur was philosophical about the entire incident. He acknowledged that it was not ideal to lose positions like that at the start. However, the Frenchman argued that the finishing order at the chequered flag was pretty much how they had qualified.
That being said, the gloves are finally off at the Scuderia. On Saturday, Leclerc was at the receiving end of Sainz getting his elbows out during the Sprint Race. In the Grand Prix, it was Leclerc who was in the mood to serve some revenge.
Will Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s bond deteriorate in their last year together?
Carlos Sainz’s apathy towards helping his teammate’s cause is understandable. He is on his way out of the team at the end of this season. Naturally, without a drive for next year, the Spaniard needs to impress the top teams. This may come at the cost of his teammate, with Sainz seemingly driving only for himself this year.
During their time as teammates, both, Leclerc and Sainz have maintained a harmonious relationship. But, as things stand at Ferrari, Sainz’s zeal to beat Leclerc in his last season with the team could hurt their relationship and the mood within the Ferrari camp.
Inklings of this discord have already started showing. After the sprint race incident, Leclerc was quoted as saying that the two had discussed the incident and had buried the hatchet. However, Sainz didn’t seem to receive the PR memo. The Spaniard claimed that the two were yet to speak.
Previously, the Ferrari drivers have spoken things out whenever they have clashed in races. The 2023 Italian GP is a classic example of the same. Both Leclerc and Sainz went hammer and tongs in the closing laps at Monza, which could have caused a double DNF for the Scuderia!
Post that tussle, Vasseur sat down with both drivers to settle their differences and unite them again ahead of the next race in Singapore. So, one can expect a similar sitdown after their Chinese GP tussle, despite Sainz being on notice period at Maranello.
