“The priority is Ferrari”: Carlos Sainz slams media for ‘inventing’ rift between him and Ferrari F1 teammate Charles Leclerc

Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz has dismissed any reports of a rift between him and teammate Charles Leclerc and slammed the media for inventing such fake stories.

Sainz has stepped up his game in the second half of the 2023 F1 season, as he was the quicker driver in the first three races following the summer break. The two Ferrari drivers had a sensational battle for podium positions at Monza, with both drivers making aggressive moves.

The heated on-track scuffle coupled with Carlos Sainz Sr.'s scathing criticism of Ferrari after the Italian GP, resulted in reports about a rift between the two Scuderia drivers. However, Carlos Sainz has refuted such stories as he claims the top priority remains the team.

“There have been no favorites at Ferrari this year or last. Between Leclerc and me, there is a good relationship.” he was quoted by Marca as saying.

“We are not fighting to be first or second in the team. The priority is Ferrari. There is no number one or two. It is an invention of the press or the fans. There will always be races in which you are in front [of your teammate], and they help you, or [they are] behind, and you should help.”

Sainz added:

“No matter how much you try to look, Leclerc and I work perfectly together. We fight without problems, as you saw in Monza, and that’s the beauty of Ferrari.”

Charles Leclerc echoed similar thoughts as he felt that the events were blown out of proportion. He insisted that he has a great relationship with his teammates and they really get on well together.

With both the Ferrari drivers dismissing reports of any tensions building within the team, it can be assumed that both drivers get along on and off the track.

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Carlos Sainz reckons he is in his best form since joining Ferrari

After returning from the summer break, Carlos Sainz has had a dream run of results as he claimed his first podium finish of the season at Monza. He backed it up with his second career win at Singapore to end Red Bull and Max Verstappen's record win streak.

F1 Grand Prix of Singapore

Sainz too feels the difference as he claims he is able to extract the most out of the SF-23. Reflecting on his recent form, the Spaniard said to RacingNews365.com:

"I'm feeling very well with the car and I'm driving very good, probably the best since I've been a Ferrari driver and finally I’m extracting my full potential. I'm happy with the work that I'm doing with my engineers to, little-by-little, keep extracting more and more potential and more performance out of the car."

Carlos Sainz admitted he had a decent pace before the summer break, but wasn't able to piece everything together. In the first three races after the summer break, Sainz has slowly built momentum culminating in a race win at Singapore.