Sainz responds: 'Not going to hang around behind Leclerc for the rest of my life'

Sainz - who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari after this season - went on the attack with Leclerc early when that was not the agreement, according to the man from Monaco. Sainz remembers the agreement differently.

"He complained about something too many times after the race," Sainz laughed, according to Motorsport-Total.com. "I wonder if he means it at this point in the season. I attacked, we had fresh soft tyres on, Mercedes too, and we had to attack the first few laps with fresh tyres and try to overtake them. That's what we said before the race."

At Sky's Italian branch, the 29-year-old was also asked about Leclerc's comment. "I don't know what happened to Charles on the first lap, I don't know if he made a mistake, but I had the chance to overtake him, and it's not like I can hang around behind him for the rest of my life. Especially because from that moment, I was able to attack Mercedes and almost overtake them in the first stint."