Tensions flare between Ferrari teammates after the Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw tensions rise between Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Starting from P5 (Leclerc) and P6 (Sainz), the pair engaged in a dramatic tussle that would set the tone for their race.
Early Lap Incident
On Lap 3, while battling for position, Sainz squeezed Leclerc on the inside into Turn 1. The brief contact sent Sainz off-track, allowing him to take the position from Leclerc. The incident left Leclerc frustrated and with car damage. Leclerc shared his perspective post-race:
“It’s a shame as the team had told us before the race to save the tyres at this moment in this race and I was doing exactly that in the last corner, which is a really good corner to save. We knew that we had to save, and Carlos used that one lap pushing in Turn 14, was very close to me, and overtook, which was fine, but he obviously did the corner like I was not there. It’s a bit of a shame, but anyway we will speak internally. It’s not a big deal. I understand it’s his home race and a very important moment of his career, and he wanted to do something spectacular. I probably wasn’t the right person to do that with.”
He emphasized that the contact caused car damage, making catching up to George Russell later in the race challenging. Leclerc added:
“It’s okay. I think he’ll [Sainz] see the image and understand that I was on the inside and that he couldn’t turn in at that point.”
Sainz’s Perspective
Sainz, however, did not share Leclerc’s view. He expressed frustration over Leclerc’s complaints and explained his aggressive approach:
“I think too many times he [Leclerc] complains after a race about something. Obviously hot, he might think that. Honestly, at this point of the season, I don’t know. I was on the attack. We were on new softs, Mercedes were on used softs, and we had to go on the attack in the first laps when you are on a new tyre and try to pass them, like we said even before the race. I passed Charles because I don’t know if he made a mistake or he was managing a bit too much.”
Strategy and Race Dynamics
As the race progressed, their strategic approaches started to differ. Sainz made an early pit stop on lap 15, switching to Medium tyres, while Leclerc stayed out longer until lap 21. This contrast continued with their second pit stops: Sainz opted for Hard tyres on lap 36, whereas Leclerc waited longer, opting for a late stint on Soft tyres.
The divergence in Ferrari’s strategy became evident when Sainz conceded position to Leclerc on lap 55, allowing the Monegasque driver to challenge George Russell for fourth place. Leclerc displayed impressive pace in the final laps, closing the gap to Russell on the last lap, but ultimately ran out of time to attempt an overtake.
Sainz’s main frustration stemmed not from the battle with Leclerc but from strategic decisions that he felt hindered his performance. Throughout the race, Sainz had moments where he was ahead of both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, even coming close to overtaking Russell during the pit stops. Sainz elaborated:
“I went on [after overtaking Leclerc] and nearly passed Lewis. We undercut Lewis and nearly passed Russell at the pit stops, so I think I was trying what I have to try as a driver, what is required of me as a driver. [Leclerc] elected to manage more. In the end, it paid off for him as he beat me at the end with a soft-medium-soft. For me, I elected to be aggressive with a soft-medium-hard, and it didn’t pay off. It is what it is.”
Team boss Frédéric Vasseur downplayed the tensions between his drivers:
“First, out of the car, they have a very good relationship and they have good mutual trust. Now they are racers, for sure you can have this kind of case, but I know also perfectly from the simulation, we are getting a lot. Last year if we recover, it is also because you had the simulation between them and this competition all over the season. Sometimes it happens, it happened today but it is not that damage on the car was missing and it is part of the game.”
He further explained:
“I think he [Leclerc] complained because he lost half second or a second at that time, rather than for damage that we didn’t see from the data. But we can find ten other moments where he lost a second during the race. It was a small contact but we didn’t lose anything at that stage of the race.”
Regarding their race strategy and performance, Vasseur added:
“With the strategy we found ourselves behind some cars and lost a few seconds, and in the end we were one lap away from catching Russell. But we started fifth and sixth and finished fifth and sixth, for me the bottom line is that we have to do a better job on Saturday.”
The Spanish Grand Prix highlighted the competitive and sometimes contentious nature of intra-team battles in Formula 1. As Ferrari moves forward, it will be crucial for both drivers to find a balance between aggressive racing and team harmony to maximize their performance in future races.
