Ferrari FORBIDS Carlos Sainz from overtaking Charles Leclerc at Austrian GP gives him number 2 driver treatment yet again

Ferrari FORBIDS Carlos Sainz from overtaking Charles Leclerc at Austrian GP gives him number 2 driver treatment yet again

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (Credits: The Telegraph and The Independent)

The Austrian Grand Prix has witnessed a spicy, enthralling start, with the Safety Car deployed within two laps following a turn-one incident. However, attention has shifted to the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who are at an arm’s length from each other, vying for the coveted P2 just behind the leader. Sainz, unfortunately, has been forbidden from overtaking Leclerc.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, by lap 9, was lapping faster than his teammate Charles Leclerc ahead. On the team radio, his engineer said, “Let me know about pace,” Sainz sharply replied, “You can see it, I don’t need to tell you.” Sainz implied it was evident he was going quicker than his teammate, warranting team orders to let him by.

https://youtu.be/6Qqo7H_bYk8

However, the team has instructed him to stay behind his Monegasque teammate. Consistently proceeding to lap quicker than Charles Leclerc, come lap 14, Carlos Sainz asked the team to allow him to run at the leader Max Verstappen, who was cruising in the lead. Yet again, his request was denied. Shortly after, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed following a crash from a Haas.

FS Video

The Ferrari team, after denying the swift Sainz the opportunity to move past the slower Leclerc, chose to pit both drivers during the VSC, double stacking them. Leclerc managed to maintain his P2 on track, but a dreadful, botched, 4.5-second long stop for Sainz saw him drop down to P5 once the race resumed, virtually ruining any shot at a possible, hopeful race win.

This rounds off a regrettable, avoidable outcome for a driver with such a promising start to the race, having been denied the priority he deserves for lapping faster than his teammate.

Related: Charles Leclerc blames mixed weather conditions for Austrian GP sprint race failure

Carlos Sainz has completely outperformed Charles Leclerc this season

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (Credits: The Guardian)
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (Credits: The Guardian)

Since his promotion in 2019, Charles Leclerc has always been Ferrari’s golden boy. When Carlos Sainz joined the Scuderia garage in 2021, it was assumed he would be number two to the Monegasque. For the first two seasons since Sainz joined Ferrari, he was outdone completely by Leclerc as the Spaniard struggled to find consistency.

However, 2023 has been a different story altogether. Despite Leclerc having scored the team’s solitary podium in Baku, Carlos Sainz has thoroughly outperformed and bested his teammate so far. The Spaniard has secured better results at 5 out of 8 races, dominating Leclerc. He also claims a higher average qualifying position of 4.63 compared to Leclerc’s 8.13.

However, despite this, the theme of Leclerc being favored and given priority has carried forward to the Austrian GP, where despite being much quicker, not only was Sainz denied the opportunity to pass Leclerc, but he was also called in for a double-stack behind the Monegasque, where he emerged the loser. His teammate, on the other hand, managed to inherit the race lead later on.

Carlos Sainz is P5 in the championship standings, 20 points ahead of Charles Leclerc. The question must be asked of how much longer they can continue favoring Leclerc amid his poor showings while denying Sainz the more proficient driver. It isn’t a good image for Ferrari, prioritizing the fortune of their golden boy while jeopardizing his better-performing counterpart.

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