Charles Leclerc Makes Interesting Carlos Sainz Statement While Listing His Potential F1 Rivals in 2022

Charles Leclerc has recently opened up on the biggest competitors this year. No, it’s not Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. It’s Charles’s teammate at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz. The Monegasque expressed that Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren have good chances to fight with Ferrari this season. However, it’s Sainz whom Leclerc wants to beat in the race to driver’s championship.

Talking about the competition Charles conveyed his message in an interview. When asked about being the biggest competitor this year, the Ferrari driver stated, “I think Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren are going to be great. But if I had to pick one person to fight for the world championship with, it would be Carlos.”

Why Charles Leclerc’s main opponent is Carlos Sainz?

Both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had a good season in Ferrari last year. The duo helped the Italian team get the better of McLaren by claiming P3 in the Constructor’s Championship. Ferrari claimed 323.5 points in total, leaving McLaren behind by 48.5 points.

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However, the urge to be the best in the team remains. We’ve already seen this before with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes as well as Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull. And the Ferrari fans somewhat saw a similar picture last season.

In the driver’s championship, Carlos Sainz beat Charles Leclerc by a meager 5.5 points. Sainz finished the season in P5 while Leclerc finished in P7. Lando Norris of McLaren finished a point in P6 ahead of the Monegasque as of last year.

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During the season, Carlos picked up 4 podiums as compared to Charles’s 1. Despite having only one podium finish, the 24-year-old claimed two pole positions. All in all, it’s pretty clear why Charles Leclerc hails his teammate Carlos Sainz as his primary competition. It’ll be interesting to see if he can beat the Spaniard in the driver’s championship this season.