"It cost us both positions" - Carlos Sainz comments on opening lap tussle with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz claimed that his early squabble with teammate Charles Leclerc during the Chinese Grand Prix was detrimental for both the Ferrari drivers in Shanghai.

It was a weekend full of drama for Scuderia Ferrari as F1 returned to Shanghai after a long hiatus. Tensions ran high within the Italian camp as teammates Charles Leclerc and the soon-to-depart Carlos Sainz engaged in a fierce clash over the course of the season's first Sprint weekend.

The two drivers made contact during Saturday's Sprint race before going at it in the qualifying session later in the day. The teammate battle continued in the initial laps of Sunday's Chinese GP as Leclerc forcefully pushed Sainz wide, preventing him from gaining ground. However, that maneuver proved costly for both drivers, with Leclerc finishing P4 and Sainz crossing the checkered flag at P5.

Speaking of their tussle during the race at the Shanghai International Circuit, Carlos Sainz stated in a media session, which included Sportskeeda, after the race:

"I’d prefer not to comment, but it’s obviously quite clear that it cost us both positions. So yeah, it didn’t help either of us."

Sainz conceded that a higher finish was unattainable given the circumstances. He added:

“I think, given what our pace was today, I think better than P5 was impossible. Also, we had a very poor start with a situation there in Turns 1 and 2 that cost both cars two positions."

“From there on, we were just playing catch up – we had to box very early for the hard," said Carlos Sainz.

---

Charles Leclerc reflects on Ferrari's hard tire struggles at the Chinese GP

Charles Leclerc expressed bewilderment over Ferrari's struggles with the hard tires, a departure from the team's usual prowess across different conditions. He stated in a media session, which included Sportskeeda, following the race:

"I don't think we found it [the pace] as a team, especially on the hard tires, which is a bit strange because the strength of this car since the beginning of the year is it's very solid in all conditions with all tires."

"Today is a bit of an outlier because as soon as we put on the hards, we were half a second off. So that is very strange. We will look into it and try to understand what went wrong on that run."

Max Verstappen won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, registering his fourth victory of the season in five races. Lando Norris and Sergio Perez secured P2 and P3 positions respectively.

Meanwhile, after five races, Charles Leclerc is ranked third in the F1 Drivers' standings. With two podium finishes in Melbourne and Jeddah, the Monegasque driver has accumulated 76 points.