Sainz reveals 'hardcore' Leclerc fan abuse amid Hamilton Ferrari tensions
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Carlos Sainz has opened up about the difficulties he experienced during his time alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, revealing that he received insults from some of the Monegasque driver's supporters and faced criticism from the Italian media.
His comments come amid renewed attention surrounding the relationship between Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, following their recent on-track tensions. Having spent four seasons alongside Leclerc between 2021 and 2024, Sainz knows first-hand the challenges of managing a competitive relationship between two drivers at Ferrari.
The Spaniard, who now races for Williams, insists that his relationship with Leclerc was considerably better than the public perception suggested, despite several heated battles during their time together.
Sainz reveals difficulties with Leclerc's supporters
Reflecting on his four seasons at Ferrari, Sainz explained that fighting for victories inevitably created situations in which individual ambitions could clash with the team's interests.
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"Honestly, I have a relatively good memories of my time with Charles and the fights we had. It is true that when you're fighting for wins, there's always more pressure, more things down the line. So you become naturally a bit more selfish than when you are fighting in in the midfield for a P8 or a P9."
"It's more difficult maybe to follow exactly the ideal situation that the team would like you to follow because there's a win down the line. There were wins down the line back then, but I think I always respected Charles. He always respected me. We never had contacts or anything like this. We just had strong fights."
Photo: Race Pictures
However, Sainz admitted that the most challenging aspect of their rivalry was not what happened on track, but the reaction from supporters and the media.
"I remember Monza, Las Vegas. There was plenty of hot moments during the year. I think what it was difficult more was the fan base, the PR and the fan base was really ignited back then, And it was very polarized between Charles and me, and I remember suffering a bit from from the very hardcore fans of Charles insulting or or wishing me bad."
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"Maybe some Italian media also saying that I was not being enough for for number two when I needed it to be, and vice versa whenever Charles had to do it."
Despite those difficulties, Sainz stressed that he and Leclerc were generally able to resolve their disagreements privately, often within hours of an incident.
"It's more the pressure surrounding Ferrari that involves Ferrari than than the actual issues that I had with Charles, which were always resolved that same night when we called each other in more cold headed head, and we always managed to to find a solution on the way forward."
Sainz explains why Ferrari teammate tensions are unavoidable
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Asked how drivers manage the conflict between pursuing their own results and avoiding unnecessary risks against their teammates, Sainz argued that such situations are unavoidable when a team employs two competitive drivers.
"It's always been there. I cannot remember no Formula 1 team that has had two good drivers fighting at the front that haven't had issues when fighting for wins."
"You can choose whether to have a number two as a second driver, or you can have two good drivers that will create those issues. But you cannot have one without the other, in my opinion. And you will never have one without the other."
Sainz also suggested that the attention surrounding Ferrari can make these situations particularly difficult to manage, pointing to similar rivalries at Mercedes and McLaren.
"Maybe in Ferrari it gets a bit exacerbated with everything that involves Ferrari, but I cannot remember a moment where this hasn't happened. It happened in Mercedes. It happened in McLaren last few years. It happened in Ferrari. It happened in McLaren in 2007, 2008. I don't know when it hasn't happened."
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For the former Ferrari driver, even the most experienced team principals cannot completely prevent competitive teammates from challenging each other when significant results are at stake: "If you are team principal and you know you're gonna have two great drivers, you're always gonna have that issue. I don't think you can ever come those two guys 100% down and expect them not to go for a move for a race week."
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