The Smooth Operator – Carlos Sainz has been on a rampage ever since F1 returned from the summer break. His form & pace have been nothing short of spectacular. Not the trend anyone usually expects at Ferrari. Well, Charles Leclerc turned the tables back to normalcy in Suzuka. Qualifying & finishing ahead of Carlos in the Japanese GP race, Leclerc returned to form. Meanwhile, Sainz’s performance was not bad. Finishing just two places behind Charles, he seemed a tad miffed post-race.
Carlos Sainz wanted to keep his hot streak going in Japan. But Leclerc denied him that opportunity by finishing fourth. In the latter stages of the race, the Monegasque had track position & chased down the Mercedes well. While Sainz had faster tires, courtesy of pitting later, he was covering up the ground all the time. While he was stuck behind Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc was attempting to get past Russell’s W14.
It was an awesome move by Leclerc to pass George into Turns 1 & 2. However, the #55 raised concerns over how much time his teammate took to pass him. Apparently, it affected his chances partially of getting past Hamilton later in the race. When asked by Motorsport.com about his overall race, Carlos said, “I think I was four or five-tenths quicker than Lewis, closing in on him. And I don’t think that’s enough delta to pass. Just could last two laps, I was quicker.”
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“But it gets to a point where if you’re not one second quicker, you’re not passing. Also, Charles took quite a long time to pass George on very worn hards for George. And it just proved to me that today it was all about track position, which is what we lost at the pit stop. We were four seconds in front of Lewis – we exit eight behind.”
Many fans seem to be bothered by how Sainz is trying to drag Leclerc into his post-race comments. After all, the #16 driver was faster the whole weekend & it reflected in the results too.
“Crying & Fingerpointing”: Tifosi slams Carlos Sainz for unnecessary Charles Leclerc mention
Fans on Twitter (now X) reacted to how Sainz has no point in mentioning Leclerc as a potential influence to his lower finish in Japan. Ferrari often gets slack for a poor strategy. Although to be fair, their strategic execution in Suzuka was fairly on point. Thus, the Spaniard had little scope to complain & yet he did. The Tifosi certainly didn’t take it kindly, citing “Carlos Sainz is a loser”
Proving that Carlos Sainz is a loser pt. 36272, a p4 was enough to get this reaction from him 😭😭 and btw Charles overtook George in like 2 laps pic.twitter.com/6Hlf4V7MWL
— Cande (@candeleclerc16) September 25, 2023
Fans often spot this trend that Sainz doesn’t take a loss to his teammate gracefully. Even earlier in this Japanese GP weekend, Twitterati called him a “liar” for covering up his struggle with the car despite having a hot streak of form.
This crying and finger pointing whenever Charles is in front of him is so tiring. And this is the stuff he tells the media. Imagine the debriefings. The whole team probably wants to cry
— spinningthewheel (@spiningthewheel) September 25, 2023
The debrief certainly would have made a few folks on the Maranello team stressed unnecessarily. That too, after what was a fairly well-executed race by the Scuderia, given their outright pace.
He was the one who wanted to do the strategy of extending the stint and now he’s trying to blame the team 😭😭
— Harry (@hazcraig16) September 25, 2023
This point of the extension of the stint makes sense. Sainz himself took that call. So if he didn’t have enough time it was primarily due to this factor.
Umm did he have to mention Charles tho😭
— afrah (@afrah_hajira) September 25, 2023
Often teammates have banter. So given this was a small incident, Charles & Carlos may not mind.
After all, even Leclerc had to finish as 2nd best in Italy & Singapore, right?
He lives with Charles in his head all day… his life revolves around Charles…and thinks that of he says this alot…everyone will believe him. Such a team player…not!!!
— SophieRod (@SophieRod4) September 25, 2023
Eventually, they are one of the more friendly teammates on the grid. So, one wonders if there will be any grudges kept between the Ferrari duo.
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I don't think it was necessary to mention Charles here. His inability to say anything nice about his teammate is just baffling.
— Lila (@Poisis5) September 25, 2023
What happens on track stays on track is the eternal motto in F1. Thus, even Sainz & Leclerc will get on with business as usual going ahead. They have a task at hand to take P2 in the championship from Mercedes. If they want to achieve that, they would like to have more well-executed races like Japan & pace in the races ala Singapore.
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WATCH THIS STORY | Carlos Sainz’s Heartbreaking Confession Sparks Breakup Rumors with GF Isabel Hernaéz
Still, what do you think, is there is bubbling rivalry between Carlos Sainz & Charles Leclerc?