‘They will start to invest in the faster driver,’ former world champion Mika Hakkinen hints at Ferrari preferring Charles Leclerc over Carlos Sainz this season


‘They will start to invest in the faster driver,’ former world champion Mika Hakkinen hints at Ferrari preferring Charles Leclerc over Carlos Sainz this season

Charles Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz

The 2022 Formula-1 season is up and running and so is the Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver has attained three podium finishes with two victories in the season so far. The Italian team, Ferrari has been the team to look out for ever since the things kicked off at the pre-season testing.

Talked about as the favorites in the paddock, all the expectation lies on the two Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. After years of struggle, Ferrari finally have a competitive package and everyone is on a lookout for how their drivers perform when pushed comes to shove in the championship. 

The Ferrari team turned many heads in the paddock when they decided to sign Carlos Sainz Jr. The Spaniard joined the team in 2021 on a two year deal, replacing the four time world champion Sebastian Vettel. In his debut season for the team, Carlos Sainz Jr. managed to outscore his team-mate Charles Leclerc and grab the fifth position in the driver’s championship. Ferrari team realised they have a brilliant driver pairing in their garage and the 2022 season is their time to shine. 

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Charles Leclerc reliability applauded by Mika Hakkinen

Mika Hakkinen

The current season has started just the way Charles Leclerc would have hoped as he sits at the top of the championship, 34 points ahead of the field. However, Carlos Sainz Jr. has had a rather nervous start to the season with not being able to deliver the same pace that his teammate has shown. The question remains would the Spanish driver be able to show the levels of consistency he has priorly and challenge his team-mate for the championship.

The defending world champion, Max Verstappen was one of the favorites to win this year again. However, due to the reliability of his car, he has fallen behind and Charles Leclerc has stretched his lead up ahead. The Finnish-born two-time world champion, Mika Hakkinen opinionated that it is mainly due to the reliability of the Ferrari alongside the faultless start by Charles Leclerc.

“This ( Leclerc’s consistency) is not only due to the qualities of the Ferrari car because Charles Leclerc is also achieving a high level himself. This is not for nothing, as Leclerc can hardly be caught at fault this season. Sainz has fluctuated more. He’s made some mistakes. For some reason, he hasn’t nailed it. Knowing Ferrari’s mentality, they will start to invest in the faster driver,” Mika Hakkinen said.

The season still entails 20 races for the tides to change direction and come to the season finale at Abu Dhabi, it remains unknown who comes out on top.

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