Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc may disagree about their duel in Barcelona, but neither wants to hold a grudge over the spat
In Barcelona, things got a little heated between the two Ferrari drivers after their contact at the start, but everything has been sorted out at the Scuderia ahead of the next race in Spielberg. Charles Leclerc said on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring: “It’s all good. We had a discussion, as always… and I think it only looks big from the outside. “
“Between us – we know each other so well, for so many years – we know there’s tension after the race, we’re both disappointed with each other in the heat of the moment. But then we talk to each other and everything is fine,” says Leclerc, who reveals that he flew back to Monte Carlo together with Sainz.
“Looking ahead, I have no worries at all about our relationship. It was just a race where there was a bit more tension, which has happened in the past. Maybe it wasn’t the last time either, but we’ve always managed to get everything back on track by talking to each other,” explains the Monegasque.
His team-mate Sainz is of the same opinion: “Charles and I are very competitive and therefore often very close together in the race because we always start together, with a difference of five thousandths in qualifying.” The Spaniard sees the occasional clash on the track as a logical consequence of the close team duel.
“It simply means that you share the track more often in 24 races, and logically you have your ups and downs, including friction. But we’ve always been mature enough to handle it well and deal with it off the track. Ideally not in the media, but away from it, and that’s what we’ve tried to do over the years,” explains Sainz.
Sainz clarifies: There was no team order at the start
However, Leclerc chose to go through the media this time and blabbed that there was a non-aggression pact for the first laps, Sainz does not want to add fuel to the fire in this regard: “I obviously made the maneuvers because I thought there was no order. “
Sainz: “If there was, then it would have been a team order, and I’m the first – and I think you saw that in the race because I let him past immediately when a team order came in the race – to follow it when there is a team order.” The Spaniard explains: “I’ve always been the same, always super pragmatic and obedient with this team.”
“I’ve been here for four years and I’ve obeyed every single team order I’ve ever been given,” says Sainz – obviously forgetting the one for his maiden victory at Silverstone. Nevertheless, he says: “If I decide to make a maneuver, it’s obviously because I believe and know that there was no team order to hold the position. “
No change in dynamics: “Are professionals “
Leclerc does not believe that the dynamic between the two Ferrari team-mates will change now that Sainz has to leave the team at the end of the season: “We have worked very, very well together in the past. There are only these questions now because of what happened in the last race,” says Leclerc, nipping the alleged rift at Ferrari in the bud.
Leclerc does not believe that the Spaniard has changed his approach, or even that he only races for himself and not for the team: “At the end of the day, we are professionals and we both know that it is good for us if there is a good relationship within the team and we work well together on the track.”
The Monegasque admits: “Sometimes we can go a bit over the limit, sometimes me, sometimes Carlos. But then it’s about talking about it and setting everything to zero. And I have no doubt that this will no longer be the case looking forward. “
