Despite initial television footage suggesting he stood alone in the moment of triumph, Ferrari personnel turned out in force to celebrate Carlos Sainz’s remarkable Bahrain podium.
Sainz clinched Ferrari’s inaugural podium of the 2024 season as he steered his SF-24 to a commendable third-place finish behind the Red Bull duo at the demanding Sakhir circuit.
Notably, he achieved this feat by overtaking his teammate Charles Leclerc twice during the race, with the first maneuver appearing uncomfortably close to Ferrari’s comfort.
Nevertheless, Sainz’s triumph was not devoid of underlying tension, particularly considering Ferrari’s recent decision to retain Leclerc for the 2025 season while parting ways with Sainz in favor of Lewis Hamilton.
This decision sparked significant debate among fans, some of whom circulated a video clip on social media depicting Sainz seemingly standing alone after emerging from his car in the Parc fermé area.
Despite any apparent discord, Ferrari’s strong presence at the celebration underscored their support for Sainz and their recognition of his significant achievement in securing a podium finish for the team.
“He was looking for his team and not a single person was there, FCK them,” “Stated one X user,” to which another responded, “Sainz definitely doesn’t deserve that”.
As reported by Marca, this is due to the “camera shot did not cover the entire length of the fence with which the podium area is delimited and behind which the employees of each team that has a driver at the ceremony stand.
“His mechanics were all there, as well as his father and his cousin and representative, Carlos Oñoro.”
They added; “There is nothing that he has been ‘abandoned’ by the employees of the ‘Cavallino’ brand, that they are gaslighting him, or anything like that.”
The report also mentioned a fresh F1 initiative aiming to vend VIP tickets for access to the pit area, resulting in Ferrari staff navigating through a congested traffic situation to join in the celebrations with their driver.
Regarding Ferrari’s pit stop tactics, which led to Sainz overtaking Leclerc twice after Ferrari pitted Leclerc ahead of him, allowing the Monegasque to gain an advantage, Sainz doesn’t perceive it as a deliberate strategy to place him behind his teammate.
He stated; “I don’t think it was an intended ‘undercut’.”
“I think Charles degraded the tyres probably a bit earlier than me, and they decided to keep me out for three or four laps. Honestly, those three or four laps were very strong. I think I managed to go down to 37s, low 37s again. So it was worth it.
“Then luckily it didn’t compromise my race because I could pass Charles fairly quickly and go and attack George [Russell], which I passed also quite quickly. So I don’t think I lost too much race time in that situation.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur expressed admiration for Sainz and commended his professionalism displayed in Bahrain.
He said to the media; “Honestly, I was convinced that he would have this kind of reaction. It’s also why we decided to get it out early, turn the page, and focus on the season.
“And the reaction of Carlos was not unprofessional. Today he did a very good job.”
