Rivalries between teammates in Formula 1 is a common occurrence but the current pairings on the grid get on a lot better than those before them.
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna’s relationship at McLaren was tense to say the least, while even just a few years ago Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg didn’t always see eye to eye at Mercedes.
McLaren team principal Zak Brown was speaking on the Drive to Wynn Podcast and shared one current pairing that might kick off before the end of the 2024 season.
Some teammates are so far apart in terms of ability, that it’s hard to imagine them ever getting into a feud.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll barely see each other on the track, while Williams would love Logan Sargeant to close the gap to Alex Albon no matter how unlikely that is.
Alpine’s drivers – Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly – have famously fallen out in the past but appear to be pushing towards a common goal right now of getting the manufacturer off the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.
However, Zak Brown believes that the relationship between Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc may start to suffer as the season goes on.
They’re only going to be teammates for 19 more races before the Spaniard has to find a new team for 2025.
But, the way they raced against each other in China shows that neither driver is going to take any prisoners this year.
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Zak Brown expects ‘fireworks’ between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz this season
Ferrari must have known that the relationship between Leclerc and Sainz would be compromised before the season even started.
Once they announced that the 26-year-old Monegasque was signing a new long-term deal, the expectation was that Sainz’s new contract was going to follow.
However, the availability of Lewis Hamilton changed everything and the three-time race winner ended up losing his seat to the seven-time world champion.
It’s given Sainz a point to prove and a Formula 1 career to save and he appears to be up to the task.
Podium finishes in Bahrain and Japan were impressive, but his race win in Australia when Max Verstappen retired was his crowning moment.
He got the better of Leclerc that weekend and is only seven points behind his rival despite missing the race in Saudi Arabia.
Zak Brown believes that things will only get more heated between Sainz and Leclerc as the season goes on.
The Spanish driver admitted that their battle in China affected both of their races, while Leclerc declared that his teammate was ‘over the limit’ during their fight in the Sprint Race.
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Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has battle to manage throughout 2024
Speaking about both Ferrari drivers, Brown said: “I think they’ve gone at it a few times, they went at it at Monza last year.
“I would expect there to be some fireworks there before the season is over.
“You’re going to have a situation where Ferrari needs to cut off Carlos [Sainz] from information about next year’s car and the same thing with Mercedes with Lewis [Hamilton].
“So, naturally that means you’re going to kind of favour the driver that’s sticking around and then you’ve got two drivers that are uber-competitive.
“Carlos is still looking for a ride, Lewis is going to want to prove he can get the best of George [Russell].
“So, I’m maybe expecting some fireworks between those two teams in the second half of the year because while I think they’re managing it very well, you can see by the radio chat in a few instances that it wouldn’t take much for that to flare up.
“So I think that’s a watch this space if you told me either of the two teams’ drivers kind of went at it later in the year, that wouldn’t surprise me.”
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Who will come out on top in battle between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz this season?
The worst-case scenario for any team principal is to watch their two drivers take any on-track fight too far, costing them points in the process.
Zak Brown can see that happening between Leclerc and Sainz with both drivers knowing they’ve got something to prove.
Leclerc’s future may be set, but he will want to show that Ferrari made the right decision retaining him and set a benchmark for Lewis Hamilton to reach when he arrives next year.
Carlos Sainz’s options for 2025 are slowly dwindling and the best thing he can do is make himself an irresistible option for Red Bull with Sergio Perez’s contract set to expire.
The post ‘Expecting some fireworks’: Zak Brown thinks 26-year-old and 3-time race winner will clash during 2024 season appeared first on F1 Oversteer.