Former F1 driver Mark Webber and British Racing driver Billy Monger discussed the performance of two Ferrari drivers after the first four rounds of the 2024 season.
Carlos Sainz only participated in three out of four races this season, yet he stands fourth in the Championship, only four points behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
In their direct head-to-head battle, Sainz clearly leads 2-1 in qualifying and 3-0 in race results. Sainz is currently having the best start of the season in his career and it couldn't have come in a better time for him.
The Spaniard obviously won't be driving for Ferrari next year, and he still officially has no seat in any of the remaining teams. Mark Webber told Channel 4:
"Look if you can't get motivated because you don't have a contract in your top pocket, you're in strife."
"I think he's a man on a mission now, he's got the bit between his teeth, and obviously he's driving brilliantly. Ferrari, you know, are they regretting their move?"
Another former F1 driver, Martin Brundle, suggested that even if the Italian team regretted the move, they certainly wouldn't tell us about it.
When the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Fred Vasseur, was approached with a question that proposed a scenario in which his team didn't get rid of Sainz, he responded in an annoyed way:
"We have the same question each weekend. Do a copy paste of my reply of last week, next one."
Webber's fellow pundit Billy Monger suggested it is up to Leclerc now to prove that Ferrari made the right decision (to replace the correct driver), but so far, he hasn't been able to do so.
"Obviously that’s what Charles will be aiming to do, to prove that he is quicker than Carlos, and he can score more points than him over a season."
"But so far it hasn't gone that way, which probably going into the season not many people were expecting that. Carlos has probably over-delivered with a lot of people's expectations of him."