Charles Leclerc will have a new teammate for 2025 after Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton and let Carlos Sainz go. But he hasn’t yet been able to establish himself as the clear number one just yet.
Sainz has been energised by Ferrari’s rejection so far this year. This was evident from the very first race, when he twice battled his way past Leclerc to finish on the podium (albeit with the aid of his teammate’s temperature issues).
He missed the following race in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis but fought hard to return in Australia two weeks later. And when Max Verstappen retired with brake problems in the early stages, it was Sainz who was there to capitalise.
The 29-year-old was also the lead Ferrari in Japan, completing the podium behind the two Red Bulls. Leclerc was able to strike back in China, but only after a risky Sprint-race battle that forced Sainz to apologise behind the scenes.
Sainz actually came out on top in their first year together as teammates in 2021, although he only scored 5.5 more points. Leclerc was far superior in 2022, but they were closely matched again last year as the Monegasque finished just six ahead.
Heading into Imola, the 26-year-old was two places and 15 points clear in the championship. But it’s worth remembering that Sainz recorded a DNS in Jeddah.
Charles Leclerc on the pain of seeing Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz win
Leclerc and Sainz have each scored three victories during their partnership. But the former took all of his wins in an 11-race stretch between the Bahrain and the Austrian Grands Prix in 2022.
Sainz, meanwhile, stood on the top step for the first time at Silverstone that year, and then denied Red Bull a clean sweep by winning in Singapore last season. Factoring in Australia too, he’s been responsible for Ferrari’s last two wins, while Leclerc is on a lengthy drought.
In an interview with L’Equipe, Leclerc was asked whether he found this ‘painful’. Sainz qualified ahead at both races, and that put him in a position to take full advantage of Red Bull’s exceedingly rare issues.
“It hurts,” he said. “And it’s a pleasure because for the team, victory is important. But we feel bad about it personally, at least I do. Over those two weekends, I wasn’t up to scratch. I lost those two opportunities.”
“Qualifying today has a big impact on the race. In Singapore, we weren’t far off it. I didn’t make the right choice in qualifying and in Australia I was also a little bit worse. So in those two races, I paid the price.”
Charles Leclerc has ‘really beautiful’ friendship with one driver
Sebastian Vettel says Leclerc is ‘easy’ to get along with, and he certainly hasn’t made many enemies since joining F1 in 2018. Former Sauber strategist Ruth Buscombe recalls his ‘beautiful’ relationship with Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly during his rookie year even as the two teams squabbled in the midfield.
Having gone up against a four-time world champion in Vettel, Leclerc has found himself in an extremely close battle with Sainz over a number of years. But there has rarely been a sign of cracks forming down the middle of the garage.
Even when there are flare-ups, like in China, they are quickly brought under control. It would be easy for Leclerc and Sainz to throw out the rulebook in the knowledge of the latter’s impending departure, but they have remained respectful.
While Ferrari may see Leclerc’s team-first approach as an asset, some think it could hurt him. For instance, ex-F1 driver Robert Doornbos fears he would be ‘eaten’ by Hamilton in a title battle because he’s ‘too nice’.
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