Charles Leclerc was furious at the top of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and made his feelings clear over the radio to engineer Bryan Bozzi after Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz ignored orders to not attack him.
Looking around for a method to overtake Sainz through the final round of stoppages, Leclerc was overtaken by the Spaniard, who reluctantly secured one other podium before leaving the Italian team.
But was Sainz right to disregard the team or will he regret his decision? Our authors have their say.
Sainz has the best to point out Ferrari what it would miss – Alex Kalinauckas
Remember how fiercely Sainz fought against Leclerc within the sprint race in China? Or perhaps a protracted, similar battle in the identical place near Austin? Well, his ruthlessness towards his team-mate burst onto the Vegas GP scene, and considering it meant Leclerc was trapped behind Max Verstappen for too long, it gave him his twenty sixth podium of his F1 profession.
By moving to Williams next yr, Sainz has chosen a greater short-term option when it comes to competitiveness than Sauber/Audi. But a Williams driver hasn't made an F1 podium since Belgium 2021 (though actually Baku 2017).
He simply cannot know when he shall be on the F1 podium again given his impending drop down the grid, even when he and latest teammate Alex Albon hope Williams can proceed its climb under team principal James Vowles.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
This alone justifies his decision to disregard Ferrari's instructions to not attack Leclerc because the second SF-24 emerged from its second stop on the night in Vegas. This enraged Leclerc, around the proper sarcasm of “Maybe try Spanish.” Although only Sainz's order to change positions – which he delayed – before the primary services was published on world television.
It's easy to read a certain quantity of frustration in Sainz's drive against Leclerc this yr.
Ferrari selected Monaco as its long-term star even before signing Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, with Sainz showing so well against such a quick and highly rated driver. It is often the higher of the pair when understeer is involved – as was the case in Mexico, but differently as a result of the low surface temperatures in Vegas.
Until Leclerc pulled himself together on the tricky tracks of the Vegas race, Sainz was leading for Ferrari – other than his slight overshoot in the primary corner and slipping deep, opening the door for his teammate. Perhaps he thought that by ignoring the range of the teams, he was restoring the natural order of the event.
This carries the chance that he is probably not considered for Ferrari again in the approaching years, which is something Sainz has openly said he would love to do if the chance arose.
However, given how things can change on the Scuderia within the short term, as evidenced by the history of management and driver changes, Sainz's brutal adoption of such an approach in 2024 may not even matter.
Sainz will hope he doesn't burn bridges – Oleg Karpov
All things considered, I feel Sainz has done incredibly well this yr. He had so much to cope with – not only the knowledge that he would get replaced by one other driver, but in addition the undeniable fact that other top teams – also with vacancies – were in no rush to sign him.
However, he stayed heading in the right direction and didn't actually say a single bad word within the media concerning the uncomfortable situation Ferrari put him in. I at all times felt that leaving the door open was the perfect solution for the Spaniard.
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, third position, on the rostrum
Photo: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Because this yr has shown that Ferrari might be still his best likelihood of returning to a winning automobile in the long run. By behaving professionally and communicating accurately with the surface world, he has only increased his possibilities of returning on the day Lewis Hamilton decides to retire.
It's still a great distance and the world shall be a really different place in just a few years, but Sainz's childhood hero and good friend, Fernando Alonso, may be a superb example of why it's vital to not burn bridges.
We don't really know what happened in Vegas (and a few of it would probably stay in Vegas without end), so it's hard to argue without knowing the small print of the pre-race discussions. However, if Sainz managed to upset the team (he actually annoyed his teammate) to get one other podium, I suppose you may ask yourself if it was price it.
Yes, this will likely have been one among Sainz's last opportunities, but hasn't he just complicated his future a bit?
Mercedes and Red Bull had the proper opportunity to catch Sainz this yr. The former had a unoccupied, the latter still doesn't quite know what to do with Sergio Perez, and yet Sainz, as a free agent, didn’t grow to be as attractive an option because it may appear. And there isn’t a indication that their approach to Sainz will change in the long run.
There are those within the paddock who imagine that it was internal conflict with Verstappen and his clan during his time at Toro Rosso that ultimately prevented Sainz from returning to the Red Bull family – and it's not hard to imagine that this was one among the aspects…
It looks like Leclerc shall be at Ferrari just a few years longer than Hamilton. He probably won't be the one to make your mind up who his next team-mate shall be, but will Sainz still be on Ferrari's list if the mood stays bittersweet after this yr?
