Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz achieved fourth and fifth place respectively in the Sprint race.
Ferrari drivers have been closely matched in terms of performance throughout the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. During the recent sprint race, they were competing for positions in the final laps.
Carlos Sainz defended aggressively, pushing Charles Leclerc off the track near turn 14. Leclerc immediately expressed the need to discuss Sainz’s risky defensive move that could have resulted in a potential crash.
After the race, Leclerc stated that they had talked about it and resolved the issue. However, Sainz later revealed that they hadn’t had the opportunity to discuss it and sort things out. Both drivers have had close encounters while fighting for positions in the past.
The reality is that we didn’t have the chance to talk, as there is limited time for communication in this format. We will probably do so tonight.
The conflicting statements from both drivers have generated a lot of discussion, as it is highly unusual. They both emphasized that the incident is now in the past and their focus is on maximizing the team’s result in Sunday’s race in Shanghai.
While Sainz hasn’t had the opportunity to talk to Leclerc about the sprint race incident, he believes it was not excessive. He shared his thoughts on the intense competition between the two drivers.
There is nothing noteworthy about it. We were racing hard during the sprint. We were also racing hard against other cars, and I didn’t complain. It’s a matter of maintaining as much space as possible with your teammate, which I always strive to do throughout my career.
The 29-year-old acknowledged that there was nothing remarkable about his battle with Leclerc. He also mentioned that he may have been overly aggressive due to the floor damage he sustained in a previous fight. With all this in mind, all eyes will be on the two SF-24s during tomorrow’s Chinese GP.