“It’s too many times that after the race Charles Leclerc complains about something”: Carlos Sainz blasts Ferrari teammate after F1 Spanish GP

Carlos Sainz criticized his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in light of their recent collision at the 2024 F1 Spanish GP. The discord between the two drivers was about their wheel-to-wheel battle and team orders.

Ferrari brought yet another major upgrade package to Spain in order to stay ahead of McLaren and challenge Red Bull. However, the new parts were not the strongest. Leclerc qualified P5 while Sainz secured P6.

According to Leclerc, Ferrari insisted both their drivers save tires and not push at the start of the Spanish GP. However, Sainz felt that they needed to push hard to overtake Mercedes drivers who were on used soft tires.

On Lap 3 of 66, Carlos Sainz tried to pass Charles Leclerc in Turn 1. During the intense wheel-to-wheel battle, their cars' wheels touched, which caused Sainz to go off the track and return.

After the race, Leclerc claimed that their collision damaged his front wing and cost them a chance to push forward in the race. On the other hand, Sainz snapped back and stated that the Monegasque complains too much after a Grand Prix.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Spaniard explained how he wanted to use the new soft tires as much as possible in the beginning to pass the Mercedes drivers.

“I think too many times he complains after a race about something. Obviously hot, he might think that. Honestly at this point of the season, I don’t know, I was on the attack. We were on a new soft, Mercedes were on a used soft and we had to go on the attack in the first laps when you are on a new tire and try to pass them like we said even before the race,” Sainz said.

“I passed Charles because I don’t know if he did a mistake or he was managing a bit too much,” he added.

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Charles Leclerc shares his views on his on-track battle with Carlos Sainz in Spain

After the 2024 F1 Spanish GP, Charles Leclerc talked about his wheel-to-wheel battle with teammate Carlos Sainz.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Monegasque claimed that before the race, Ferrari discussed that both drivers would save tires in the first stint of the race. He expressed that he was not happy with Sainz's aggressive overtake that damaged his front wing.

"It's okay. We will have a discussion, obviously. I'm sure everything will be fine. We discussed beforehand that it was the part of the race where we had to manage the tyres as much as possible. Carlos took that opportunity to overtake, which is a shame as that put us on the back foot and damaged my front wing," Charles Leclerc said.

"It was a small damage but everything makes a difference. When you see how close we were at the end it's a shame. He is motivated to do something spectacular but I was probably not the right person to do that with," he added.

After the Spanish GP, Charles Leclerc drops from second place in the drivers' championship to third with 148 points to his name. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, is in fourth place with 116 points.