Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are presently in their fourth season as teammates at Ferrari.
Leclerc recently shared his thoughts on partnering with Carlos Sainz, expressing his excitement about the collaboration at Ferrari. Sainz’s triumph at the Australian Grand Prix, marking his third Formula 1 victory, highlighted their successful teamwork.
The race culminated in a one-two finish for Ferrari after Max Verstappen of Red Bull retired early due to a brake issue, with Sainz leading the charge ahead of Leclerc.
While Leclerc has typically held the advantage over Sainz throughout their time together, Sainz demonstrated superior pace in Melbourne.
Reflecting on his performance and whether there was room for improvement to outpace Sainz, Leclerc acknowledged the need to simply perform better, particularly in qualifying sessions. He remarked to the media, “Just being better. I think in qualifying, I haven’t been good enough.”
“In the second stint [In the race], on the first hard [tyre] stint, I had quite a bit of graining on the front left after the [Virtual] Safety Car.
“The last stint was really good, but it wasn’t enough. So Carlos was just better.”
The pair is entering their last season together as teammates before Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari next season.
Leclerc explained that having a teammate of Sainz’s caliber consistently pushes him to improve, a trend he anticipates continuing after the recent race in Australia.
“It’s been that in the last three years, where we basically will arrive at one race and Carlos will be better,” he stated.
“Then I’ll push and then I’ll be better at the next race and then we’ll improve like that.
“That’s very exciting as a driver to have such a fast team-mate. He was really on it [in Australia], so congratulations to Carlos.”
