Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz spent four seasons together at Ferrari. Sainz arrived as the replacement for Sebastian Vettel in 2021, while Leclerc was promoted from Sauber in 2019.
Leclerc inadvertently drove Vettel out of the team by beating him immediately. Sainz had impressed at upper midfield team McLaren, finishing sixth in the standings in back-to-back seasons, and was the top target to replace the four-time world champion.
Leclerc and Sainz proved to be closely matched. The Monegasque picked up 1,029 points during the partnership, while the Red Bull academy graduate notched just over 900.
CATEGORYLECSAIPoints1,029900.5Wins64Poles196Podiums3325How Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz compared at Ferrari
By the end of last season, they were the longest-serving duo in F1. But Ferrari released Sainz on the expiry of his contract in order to sign superstar Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc admits he’s envious of Carlos Sainz’s adaptability
Speaking to the official Ferrari magazine, Leclerc assessed the three teammates he’s had at Maranello. He says Vettel taught him the importance of attention to detail.
He didn’t necessarily go up against the peak version of the German driver, but he could still learn a great deal from his working methods. The same can be said for his collaboration with Hamilton, a ‘unique talent’.
As for Sainz, Leclerc admits that he’s ‘always envied’ how quickly he can ‘adapt to all sorts of conditions’. The Budapest pole-sitter has occasionally struggled in the wet, including at the British GP when he finished a season-low P12.
Sainz has been forced to become adaptable, having raced for five different teams in the last decade (Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and now Williams).
“In recent years in F1, I’ve always had fantastic teammates,” said Leclerc. “First Seb Vettel, a really hard worker and I got to see up close how much attention he paid to even the smallest detail, and I learnt a lot from him.
“Then came four years with Carlos Sainz, whose ability to quickly adapt to all sorts of conditions I’ve always envied a bit. And now, Lewis, who is a unique talent and a legend of the sport.”
Does Charles Leclerc have one final weakness he needs to address at Ferrari?
Ferrari’s sporting director rushed to calm Leclerc down after the Hungarian GP, a race where he slipped from the lead to fourth in a painful final stint. By the time he got to the media pen, he was much more measured.
That led one journalist to suggest that Ferrari are ‘brainwashing’ Leclerc. He’s made a habit of criticising the team over the radio and then retracting it in the press, and one could argue that he needs to be more ruthless.
Leclerc has clearly proven that he’s good enough to contend for a world championship. But only once since 2019 have Ferrari delivered a car fast enough to meet those ambitions (2022).
Some have suggested that he needs to look elsewhere as a result. But Leclerc has an ‘extreme’ attachment to Ferrari, and that’s the biggest obstacle in the way of a move.