“Carlos just had one thing to do in Miami”: Pino Allievi believes that Carlos Sainz failed Charles Leclerc in Miami GP

Highly respected Italian journalist Pino Allievi believes that Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz just had one task in the inaugural Miami Grand Prix and that was to protect teammate Charles Leclerc who’s leading the Drivers’ Championship leaderboard and that he failed to do so.

Ferrari had started off the race at the Miami International Autodrome on a high with a front row lockdown with Leclerc starting at P1 followed by Sainz starting from P2. They had managed to out-qualify the two RB-18s in their F1-75s with reigning world champion Max Verstappen starting from P3.

It didn’t take the Dutchman long enough to overtake Sainz early on in the race before eventually closing in on Leclerc and overtaking him in the start of Lap 9. It was definitely not the start that Ferrari had hoped for while having a front row lockdown initially.

Also Read: Carlos Sainz highly critical of the FIA ahead of Miami GP

Pino Allievi’s take on Carlos Sainz failing Charles Leclerc

“Carlos had just one thing to do in Miami. Blocking the way of Verstappen at the start and protecting Leclerc. He was not able to do that, he was overtaken by Max at Turn 2 and his race was over at that point,” said Allievi post the conclusion of the Miami Grand Prix.

Because Sainz was unable to defend against Verstappen, Leclerc had no teammate to protect him, and the Red Bull driver rapidly hauled him in. On lap 9, he got the lead by passing Leclerc down the inside at Turn 1, securing his decisive win. By winning two consecutive races, Max Verstappen has made sure that the gap between him and leader Charles Leclerc on the Drivers’ Championship leaderboard is a mere 19 points.

“Leclerc neither was able to deal with Verstappen’s comeback though, he lost the lead after eight laps. Ferrari leaves Florida with a bitter defeat for Leclerc, the fans, John and Lapo Elkann and the whole Prancing Horse,” added the Italian journalist. However, it is not all bitter news for the Italian-based racing team as they’re still leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.

Also Read: “Still 51 points behind,” Charles Leclerc imposes authority over Carlos Sainz following his commanding lead over the Spaniard

Also Read: “I still had a bit of a neck pain going into the race,” Carlos Sainz following his heavy crash in Friday Practice

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