Carlos Sainz finished ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in the former’s debut season, but it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
After spending two years with rival team McLaren, Sainz joined Ferrari ahead of the 2021 season. Many people expected him to struggle, especially considering the problems the outgoing driver Sebastian Vettel faced in the team in 2020.
After a disastrous campaign the previous year, Ferrari picked up some decent form in 2021. The Italian team had five podium finishes, 4 of which Sainz earned. In the Drivers’ standings, the Spaniard finished ahead of Leclerc by 5.5 points.
Sainz finished 5th, whereas Leclerc ended his year behind his teammate and McLaren star Lando Norris in 7th. This was a surprise to many because the Monegasque driver was seen as the lead Ferrari driver.
However, if we look at the recent past, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. For quite some time, Ferrari debutants finishing ahead of their teammate in their maiden season with the Scuderia has been a ‘tradition’ of sorts.
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Since 2007, all Ferrari debutants have finished ahead of their teammates in their first seasons
This started with the arrival of Kimi Raikkonen in the team in 2007. In his maiden campaign, the Finn won the World Championship, finishing ahead of Felipe Massa.
Masa would experience a similar defeat just three years later when Fernando Alonso beat him his first year in Ferrari.
It continued in 2015 when Vettel finished third, followed by Raikkonen in fourth. And in 2019, Ferrari’s golden boy Charles Leclerc joined the team and established his dominance by leapfrogging Vettel as the lead driver.
An exception can be counted in Raikkonen finishing ahead of Alonso in 2014. The Ice Man returned to Ferrari that year but had already made his debut for the Maranello based team seven years ago.
Considering the above statistics, Sainz finishing ahead of Leclerc does not sound like much of a surprise now!
Also read: “Carlos Sainz has debunked the Charles Leclerc mystery”
