Carlos Sainz took the lead ahead of Charles Leclerc in the early stages, but ended up behind his Ferrari teammate at the end.
During the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz accused Charles Leclerc of excessive complaining about their incident, which left Leclerc unsatisfied.
After the race, the two Ferrari drivers were seen discussing an incident on the third lap. Sainz tried to overtake Leclerc on the inside at Turn 1, resulting in contact between their cars.
Although Leclerc managed to regain the lead by using soft tires in his final stint, he suggested that the time lost at the beginning affected his performance against George Russell.
Leclerc, who finished four tenths of a second behind fourth place, revealed that the contact with Sainz caused damage to his car and that Sainz had ignored the pre-race agreement to maintain position.
Leclerc explained to Sky F1: “Before the race, we discussed the importance of managing the tires, especially at Turn 14. I did that, but Carlos wasn’t at the last corner and took the opportunity to overtake. It’s a shame because it put us at a disadvantage and damaged my front wing for the rest of the race. Although the damage was minimal, every detail matters. Considering how close we were to George at the end, it’s disappointing. However, we will discuss this within the team and I am confident that things will be better in the next race.”
When asked about Leclerc’s comments, Sainz responded defensively, emphasizing his desire to take advantage of Ferrari’s superior grip on newer tires.
However, Sainz’s aggressive approach ended up backfiring as he couldn’t hold off Lewis Hamilton in the second stint and had to switch to the less favorable hard tires.
Sainz replied: “I think it’s becoming a habit for him to complain after each race. At this point in the season, I’m not sure what he thinks anymore. We were on the attack with new soft tires, while Mercedes had used soft tires. As a driver, it was my responsibility to attack in the early laps and try to overtake them, as we discussed before the race. I overtook Charles, not sure if it was because of his mistake or if he was being too cautious, and then I almost overtook Lewis Hamilton. I undercut Lewis and we almost overtook Russell during the pit stop. I was doing what was required of me as a driver, being aggressive with the soft-medium-hard tire strategy. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me, but that’s how things go. In the end, George Russell and I were simply too slow with the hard tires, while those with soft tires were very fast.”
