"That’s a real blow for his title hopes"- Charles Leclerc will be Ferrari's 'definitive number one' after Carlos Sainz's engine failure at 2022 F1 Austrian GP, says F1 pundit

While Charles Leclerc picked up his first win since the Australian GP, the Austrian GP weekend wasn't a good one for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard suffered a DNF as he prepared to pass Max Verstappen out of Turn 3.

Sainz was the topic of discussion on BBC's Chequered Flag. Andrew Benson thought the DNF was a huge blow for Carlos Sainz and his championship hopes.

Benson argued that with another engine gone, the Spaniard is now due for an engine penalty, which will complicate things further for him. He said:

“[Carlos] Sainz has already used his allocated three engines this season. So we are now at the halfway point of the season and he’s certainly got one engine penalty looming pretty soon. It looks like both he and [Charles] Leclerc will have another engine penalty beyond that, given their engine usage at the moment. I’ve not heard Ferrari have a fix for this problem yet – they are managing their engines.’’

He continued:

“So I think Sainz could even have an engine penalty at the next race in France. That’s a real blow for his title hopes, which he thought he was in with a shot at after winning at Silverstone.’’

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Teammate's DNF a silver lining for Charles Leclerc at Ferrari

There is, however, a silver lining in all of this for Charles Leclerc as he now stretches his lead over his teammate in the championship, making it easier for Ferrari to pick him as the driver that should be given preferential treatment in the championship.

Lest we forget, at the British GP, Ferrari let both Sainz and Leclerc fight it out amongst each other and did not enforce team orders in order to keep things fair. Andrew Benson said that the points gap between the Monegasque and Sainz should make Ferrari's decision somewhat easier should the team choose to make Charles Leclerc its 'No.1 driver.' He said:

“But actually, paradoxically, in terms of the championship, it actually gives them a clearer picture from now on at the halfway point in the season. Leclerc now has quite a decisive advantage over Sainz. It might make their life a bit easier in terms of making Leclerc their definitive number one.”

Carlos Sainz trailed Charles Leclerc by 12 points heading into the F1 Austrian GP. However, owing to the Spaniard's DNF and Leclerc's victory that gap is now 37 points. Will Ferrari pull the plug on the intra-team battle at this stage? We'll have to wait and watch.