Sainz on fight with Verstappen: 'Doesn't matter if he's my ex-teammate'

Carlos Sainz wants to make Max Verstappen's life as difficult as possible at Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix. The fact that the Spaniard is a former teammate of the Red Bull driver has no bearing on his approach.

During the press conference after the sprint race, Sainz is asked if it would be better if Ferrari supported him in the fight against Red Bull, because he is an old teammate of Verstappen. Sainz thinks it's a strange question.

"I think it has nothing to do with being teammates, ex-teammates. Is the situation we are in but I don't think that it makes much sense, what you asked there, because it doesn't matter if he's my teammate, my ex-teammate or not."

Sainz: 'Verstappen driving very well'

In the sprint race on Saturday, Sainz battled teammate Charles Leclerc for P2. The Monegasque has been outperforming Sainz all season, with Leclerc often seen as the frontrunner by fans and pundits. According to Mattia Binotto, the Italians are foregoing team orders and the fastest driver will get preferential treatment.

"We’re going to both try to make Max’s life as difficult as possible in the race, in the rest of the Championship, and we need to push flat-out, you know? Because he’s far ahead in the Championship and we need to try and make his life as difficult as possible. But he's driving very well and this weekend, he's looked very quick all weekend, so it's going to be difficult to beat him in the race", Sainz ends.