As tensions grow over Lewis Hamilton’s impending arrival for the upcoming season, Carlos Sainz has laid the blame for Ferrari’s dismal start in the Chinese Grand Prix on Charles Leclerc.
Last weekend in Shanghai, Sainz and Leclerc were beaten by George Russell and Nico Hulkenberg in the first few turns. Leclerc appeared to have pushed Sainz off the track as payback for their intense altercation during the short race.
Regarding their beginning to the race, and more especially the first lap, Sainz feels it was “quite clear” that Leclerc’s grid placement cost them two positions. “I would rather remain silent,” Sainz said to Sky Sports. However, it’s evident that it cost us both two positions, thus neither of us benefited.
“Considering “It was impossible to go better than P5, given our current speed. Due to our bad start in turns one and two, which cost both vehicles two positions, we had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
“We had to pit for the hards pretty early on, and we had to stop on lap 18, or something similar, and we just kept going on the hard tire, which we were never going to be able to move forward on for very long.
At least we managed to save P5, which was our best option given the car’s speed this weekend and the choices we made given the initial circumstances.”
Leclerc, who finished fourth and one position ahead of teammate Sainz, shared his thoughts on the incident, saying: “It was just the beginning.” There’s always a problem with the tires. This is how it is.”
Red Bull’s dominance in the Formula One environment and McClaren’s Lando Norris’s victory over Sainz and Leclerc in China have raised tensions at Ferrari. Sainz, though, is optimistic that a significant modification to their vehicle would provide them the momentum to advance and improve despite the recent setback.