12 Months After Refusing to Play the Team Game for Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Shares an Update for “Another Opportunity” Ahead

Carlos Sainz has been on the unluckier side of things in the last couple of races. In the Canadian GP and the Austrian GP, despite being faster, Ferrari instructed Sainz to not overtake his teammate, Charles Leclerc. And he obeyed team orders both times. But this is unlike Sainz, that went rogue at the 2022 British GP and secured his maiden F1 victory. With the next race being the British GP, Sainz looks ready to recreate his 2022 victory again.

At Silverstone in 2022, Carlos Sainz was racing in his 150th F1 race. In Lap 39 of the race, Esteban Ocon retired his Alpine on the track before Copse. This brought the Safety car. During this period, Sainz, in P2, was asked to help Leclerc in P1 by extending the gap between them. But Sainz did not want to do so and said, “I’m going to be much faster than Charles.” In Lap 43, he defied team orders and overtook Leclerc to secure P1. And the Spaniard made his 150th race a big milestone, registering his 1st ever victory in F1.

At the Austrian GP, Ferrari has proved that their pace is good enough for a double podium if not a win. Though Leclerc had a challenging race, Sainz was much quicker and looked fearless. With the British GP almost upon us, Sainz has shown strong promise of recreating his 2022 Silverstone magic again.

He has made his intention of repeating his 2022 performance clear by posting a carousel on Instagram which also includes a throwback photo of him celebrating the 2022 win. He captioned the post: “🇬🇧 RACE WEEK in a very special place. Another opportunity ahead! – #Carlossainz“ Do you think Ferrari’s strategy will give him a chance to do what he wants?

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While that is a much-debated question, Carlos Sainz feels that Ferrari is prioritizing Leclerc despite him being clearly quicker.

Carlos Sainz Feels Sidelined After New Team Principal Frederic Vasseur’s Takeover

Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur’s relationship goes a long way back to his F3 days. So, when Vasseur came on to take over the role of Ferrari’s Team Principal, it was expected that Sainz would become the number 2 driver. And judging by the team’s calls in the last 2 races, those expectations seem to have come true.

The Spanish racer feels that since Vasseur joined the team, the management has completely changed. As we saw at the Austrian GP, Sainz was a force to be reckoned with. He even managed to hold off Sergio Perez’s Red Bull for 3 laps. If Ferrari had instructed Leclerc to let Sainz pass in the early stages of the race, Sainz might have even gotten a podium finish instead of the P6 that he got.

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Ferrari might have gotten a good result with Leclerc in P2, but it could have been a double podium if Sainz’s call was accepted. Nevertheless, the SF-23 looks quicker and the golden memories of last year could propel Carlos Sainz to the top again.