Leclerc warns: 'We can't afford to do this in the race'

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz agree that their duel in the sprint race was not the deciding factor in their failure to beat Max Verstappen in Austria on Saturday, but the former warns that Ferrari cannot afford a repeat in the main race on Sunday.

Ferrari has chosen to pit its drivers against each other, especially with Leclerc and Sainz so close in the championship. However, the team cannot afford a duel like the one seen during the sprint race if it is to keep Verstappen from victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, Leclerc believes.

Leclerc and Sainz fighting each other?

"I think tomorrow is going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today so probably tomorrow, we cannot afford to do what we did today," he stated in conversation with Formula1.com.

If Ferrari has to pick a side then it will choose the driver who is fastest at the time, Mattia Binotto has said. The Ferrari team boss believes the team cannot make it at this stage of the championship to prioritise one of the drivers and says the focus is on collecting as many points as possible for the team.