Tensions between Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz appear to be reaching a boiling point as their partnership winds down.
Tensions between Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz appear to be reaching a boiling point as their partnership winds down.
Leclerc finished fourth in Las Vegas, just behind Sainz, who is set to leave Ferrari for Williams in 2025. He will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton.
However, it was Leclerc’s frustration that was more evident than ever on team radio, where he launched into an expletive-filled rant after the race. The Monegasque claimed Sainz ignored a team instruction not to overtake him.
“Charles, you did your job, thank you,” Leclerc’s race engineer said after the race. Leclerc, clearly unhappy, replied: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did my job, but being nice fcks me over all the fcking time. It’s not even being nice; it’s just being respectful.
“I know I need to shut up,” he added.
Later, Leclerc accidentally left his radio on while venting further frustration about instructions to pick up rubber debris on the cooldown lap. “Yeah, yeah. Fcking pick up what the fck we want. And the radio is on. I’m sorry.”
Speaking to reporters afterward, Leclerc hinted that Sainz had disregarded both team orders and an agreement between them.
“I don’t want to go into the details of the issue with Carlos,” Leclerc said. “There are some things we said, and today it didn’t go like that.
“It’s good for the team, less so for the drivers’ championship where I’m fighting for second place. I know I have to count on myself.”
Sainz, for his part, attributed the fallout to general confusion surrounding team strategy.
When asked by Sky Italia why Leclerc was so angry, Sainz responded: “I have agreed not to speak to the media (about this) because every time we say something here we make a mess, and I agreed not to say anything.
“It’s between him and me. I never open the radio or speak to the media because I don’t like it—it’s not a nice thing to do and it’s not necessary. I guess he’s not happy, but I’m also not happy with the way things were handled at the time.”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur played down the incident, maintaining that it would not impact the team moving forward.
“I am not worried at all,” Vasseur said. “It is, I think, the same story again that they should react or not react. They say something during the cool-down lap when they don’t have the full picture.
“We will talk about it, and it will not be a problem. We have to avoid fighting,” the Frenchman concluded.
