Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have been teammates at Ferrari since 2021. The focus was on the local hero to achieve impressive results at the race. However, Ferrari’s strategy and other incidents during the race prevented Sainz from shining. Furthermore, Ferrari instructed Sainz to let Leclerc pass towards the end of the race. As a result, there have been various interpretations of the situation since then.
Carlos Sainz was extremely upset about the incident with Charles Leclerc at the Spanish GP. Sainz’s hopes of competing with the drivers ahead were dashed. Consequently, Maranello decided to allow Leclerc to overtake the local hero at the event. This caused a strong reaction from the Spanish crowd.
Following this incident, Fred Vasseur identified over ten instances where Ferrari lost time compared to their rivals. Additionally, Sainz letting Leclerc pass easily also resulted in both drivers losing time on the track. Vasseur called for a discussion about the incident without jumping to further conclusions.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have not had any major conflicts on the track while racing. Therefore, Fred Vasseur emphasized that the two drivers have a good relationship and trust each other outside the car. He also mentioned that such incidents happen between drivers, but the lessons learned from them are more important.
In addition, Vasseur recognized that there were several positives from the incident. The intense competition between the two drivers helped Ferrari regain lost points. Therefore, everything that happened is part of the nature of racing and the pinnacle of motorsport.
Last year, we were able to recover because of the competition between them throughout the season. Sometimes, these things happen and it’s part of the game.
Ferrari will need to continue with in-season upgrades to gain control in the development battle. The current campaign is already ten rounds in, so it is crucial for Ferrari to maintain pressure on Red Bull at the front of the grid.