"For our post-teammate era": Carlos Sainz leaves teammate Charles Leclerc spellbound with a parting gift ahead of the season-opener Bahrain GP

En route to the season-opener Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz's parting gift left teammate Charles Leclerc bemused.

The first race of the 2024 Formula 1 season is around the corner, scheduled to flag off today, at 18.00 Track Time. Sainz and Leclerc will be fielding their SF-24s, starting from P4 and P2, respectively.

Days before the first day of the 2024 F1 car launch, the shocking news of Lewis Hamilton's switch from Mercedes to Ferrari created a buzz in the paddock. A few months before the Briton's switch became official, Leclerc signed a multi-year contract extension with the Scuderia.

It meant that as the 2024 season concludes, Carlos Sainz's partnership with the Prancing Horses will come to a full stop. The 2023 Singapore GP winner has shared three seasons with his teammate, and before kicking off his final season with Leclerc, Sainz brought him a parting gift.

Scedueria Ferrari shared the friendly exchange between the duo on their X (formerly Twitter) account:

"I want to give this [Chilli toy] to you...so you remember me for the rest of your life, for our post-teammate era."

Leclerc probably didn't see that coming and was left spellbound when Carlos Sainz presented the gift. The #16 driver said:

"Come on, we're only starting the season. It's cute. It's a mix between a chili and a carrot."

Carlos Sainz scrutinizes SF-24's performance after the Bahrain qualifying stint

Tire degradation was arguably one of the central factors behind Ferrari's underwhelming performance in the 2023 season. Even though the SF-23 became the polesitter seven times, it fell short of converting them into race wins except for the Singapore GP.

The qualifying stint at the Bahrain International Circuit saw Carlos Sainz set the fastest time in Q1, at 1:29.909 seconds. However, as he progressed to Q3 in his SF-23, reigning world champion Max Verstappen took pole position by clocking the fastest Q3, at 1:29.179 seconds. Leclerc claimed the fastest Q2, at 1:29.165 seconds.

Following the qualifying, the #55 driver displayed satisfaction with the car but also suggested looking after some key areas.

Carlos Sainz's post-qualifying interview was shared by 'Ferrari Focus,' on their X (formerly Twitter) account:

"What surprised me is that in Q1 and Q2 everything looked under control. To put together a solid lap for Q3 and those last 2 or 3 tenths you find normally in Q3 never came. So it's something that we need to analyze we need to understand and see how we can those tools returns that we normally find."

Sainz added:

"I think we are in a very strong position after testing, and we've managed to improve a lot of the car in certain areas."