He had probably imagined a different ending for Carlos Sainz's last home race in Spain with Ferrari. There were many expectations, net of free practice. But something didn't work properly on the two SF-24s during the race. The reason for such a heavy defeat, a sixth and fifth position, even finishing behind Mercedes is still unknown. Answers will need to be found quickly to these questions given that we find ourselves straddling a triple header. But performance and strategy won't be the only thing to clarify. In fact, there is an equally thorny issue for Ferrari, namely the contact between Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc during the first lap of the Spanish GP. A contact which, although it did not cause damage to either of them, opened up a rather heated debate.
Charles hard on contact on Sainz who replies: “I don't know what he's complaining about”
Interviewed post-race Charles Leclerc he said he was rather disappointed by the behavior of his teammate, who on the other hand had complained about the Monegasque in a team radio immediately after the contact. Leclerc accused Sainz of acting in an attempt to put on a show at his home GP. Even Sainz, interviewed at the end of the race on Sky Sport F1, spoke about the incident.
“For me it's clear that if we have a new soft, while Mercedes has a used one, we have to attack and I did exactly that. I don't know what happened to him on the first lap and when I had the opportunity to overtake him I did it, I didn't want to stay behind him all my life. Yes, I've moved on, and I honestly don't know what he's complaining about. This time, I honestly don't know what he's worried about. Then I went to attack the Mercedes and in the first stint I was close to overtaking them, thanks to the difference in compound.”
Ferrari would have liked to take advantage of the new tire to immediately catch up with Mercedes, but this was a little unsuccessful because the two Ferrari drivers got in each other's way.
Carlos Sainz on the Ferrari pace in the Spanish GP
Ferrari was therefore unable to get back into contention for the podium with its strategies and pace. McLaren objectively had more, as did Red Bull. But apparently even the Mercedes was not within the Red's reach. On the pass Sainz therefore said he was very disappointed considering that Spain is a rather indicative stage for the rest of the championship, unlike Monaco, which is unique in its kind. "I expected to be closer to the others in terms of performance, but McLaren and Red Bull are really far away, and Mercedes has improved so much that they are now also ahead of us on these types of tracks. We have to work on this type of track, there are more tracks like Barcelona than Monaco. In the medium/high speed corners we struggle more than the others."
