Carlos Sainz lifts lid on the Ferrari pressure behind Hamilton and Leclerc’s rivalry

Carlos Sainz believes the rivalry between his former Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton may be “a bit exacerbated” by everything that comes with racing for the Scuderia.

Sainz saw that firsthand during his four seasons alongside Leclerc. Although their relationship was respectful, fans and the Italian media would “ignite” the situation.

Carlos Sainz on Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari rivalry

Last time out at the Mexico City Grand Prix, in-fighting between Leclerc and Hamilton cost Ferrari a potential Grand Prix win.

Racing for the lead on the opening lap, Hamilton muscled Leclerc at Turn 1 before both drivers went off the track at Turn 4.

Leclerc emerged in the lead, while Hamilton lost second place to Max Verstappen. Leclerc was penalised for gaining an advantage off the track.

Hamilton told the media after the race that he felt Leclerc raced his teammates hard, citing the Monegasque’s battles with Sainz at Ferrari.

“Before I joined this team, when I was at Mercedes, I watched and witnessed the back and forth between Charles and Carlos several races, where they were battling so much that the person ahead just pulled away, and they had the pace to actually win,” Hamilton said.

“The guy [Leclerc] is 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing. It’s like, ‘Do or die. Either I win or none of us do’. It shouldn’t be that. It should be us having, getting that 1-2.”

Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sainz was asked for his thoughts on what Hamilton said about his battles with Leclerc during their four years together at Ferrari.

“Honestly,” replied Sainz, “I have relatively good memories of my time with Charles and the fights we had.

“It is true that when you’re fighting for wins, there’s always more pressure, more things down the line. So you become naturally a bit more selfish than when you are fighting in the midfield for a P8 or a P9.

“It’s more difficult maybe to follow exactly the ideal situation that the team would like you to follow because there’s a win down the line. There were wins down the line back then.

“But I think I always respected Charles. He always respected me. We never had contact or anything like this. We just had strong fights.

“I think you remember Monza, Vegas. There were plenty of hot moments during the year.”

Hot moments that the Spaniard says were flamed not only by hardcore fans but “maybe” also by the Italian media.

“I think what was more difficult was the fan base, the PR and the fan base was really ignited back then, and it was very polarised between Charles and me,” he explained.

“I remember suffering a bit from the very hardcore fans of Charles insulting or wishing me bad.

“Maybe some Italian media also saying that I was not being enough for number two when I needed it to be. And vice versa whenever Charles had to do it.

“It’s more the pressure surrounding Ferrari than the actual issues that I had with Charles, which were always resolved that same night when we called each other in more cold-headed heads. We always managed to find a solution on the way forward.”

More on the Ferrari tensions

Lewis Hamilton fires defiant message as he refuses to back down over Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc clash triggers Brundle Ferrari warning

But while Sainz accepts that racing for Ferrari can amplify the tension between teammates, rivalries are not limited to Ferrari.

“It’s always been there with Formula One teams,” he said. “I cannot remember no Formula One team that has had two good drivers fighting at the front that haven’t had issues when fighting for wins.

“You can choose whether to have a number two as a second driver, or you can have two good drivers that will create those issues, but you cannot have one without the other, in my opinion, and you will never have one without the other.

“And I don’t know, maybe in Ferrari gets a bit exacerbated with everything that involves Ferrari, but I cannot remember a moment where this hasn’t happened.

“It happened in Mercedes. It happened in McLaren the last few years. It happened in Ferrari. It happened in McLaren in 2006, 2007. So I don’t know when it hasn’t happened.

“It is part of Formula One, and if you are a team principal and, you know, if you’re gonna have two great drivers, you’re always gonna have that issue.

“I don’t think you can ever calm those two guys 100% down and expect them not to go for a move for a race win.”

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