“We Asked Charles [Leclerc] to Sacrifice Himself for Carlos [Sainz]”: Frederic Vasseur Publicly Pleads Guilty to Favoritism Accusations

Carlos Sainz was Ferrari’s only race winner last year when he won at the Singapore GP. The same has been the case this year, where the Spaniard took the victory in Australia with arguably the best drive of his career. Yet, many still consider Charles Leclerc as the No.1 driver. Probably why Ferrari retained the Monegasque and let go of the Spaniard to sign Lewis Hamilton.  

They always say that both drivers are equal, but there is always an unsaid No.1 driver who gets preferential treatment. What surprised us today was the fact that Frederic Vasseur has publicly admitted to favoritism towards one of their drivers. What is even more shocking is the fact that it’s not Charles Leclerc but Carlos Sainz. Wait, what? Yes, the one that is going to leave the team. 

Frederic Vasseur, on the French Podcast, the Sports Spirit, talked about how Charles Leclerc was sacrificed for Carlos Sainz’s gain, as he said, “Last year, they had some frictions in Monza but I think in Singapore, we asked Charles to sacrifice himself for Carlos and he did it, by starting on softs and slowing down, blocking Russell.” Singapore was the only race in 2023 where a Non-Red Bull driver won, and it was Sainz who won. But Norris and both Mercedes came very close to winning. Hence Leclerc’s sacrifice was crucial. 

Taking about instances from this year, Vasseur said, “Since the beginning of the year, they both understood, even if Carlos is in a complicated situation, that you have to play the team game and they did it very well (I hope they won’t make me lie in the future) in Australia, when we asked Charles to not attack Carlos so Carlos won’t react and damage more his tires, or in Suzuka when we asked them to switch position.”

With Sainz being in the form of his life, did Frederic Vasseur and Ferrari make a mistake by letting him go and signing Lewis Hamilton? That’s what Peter Windsor thinks.

Peter Windsor: “Carlos Sainz is winning GP’s … and is being sacked”

Most of the fans are furious right now because of the choices made by Ferrari management. Letting Carlos Sainz go when he’s in the best form of his life seems like a big miss on Scuderia’s part. Peter Windsor on his YouTube live was recently asked if Ferrari is going to regret letting him go and he suggested that they probably already are regretting it. 

Windsor then added, “Carlos is winning GP’s, scoring podiums, great performance driving at the peak of his abilities and is being sacked. Just doesn’t make sense [Hamilton to Ferrari at Sainz’s cost], doesn’t feel right. There’s something going on there. I don’t know if it’s Frederic Vasseur just trying to put one over Toto Wolff and he just signed Lewis to annoy him or whether it’s a bigger picture and share prices and the effect of Lewis on the Ferrari brand. Obviously the damage of not having Lewis on the Mercedes brand. Probably a bit of both.”

What do you make of Frederic Vasseur’s comments on Sacrificing Leclerc for Sainz?