Leclerc Frustrated By Sainz 'Fighting Him More Than Others' After China Incident

F1
Saturday, 20 April 2024 at 07:30
leclercsainz ferrari3
Charles Leclerc was less than impressed by his teammate's driving during the Sprint race at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
Ahead of the Sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit, the Spanish driver managed to finish ahead of his teammate in every single race that he drove in this season, making up for an exciting battle with 20 races ahead.
However, despite qualifying in front of his teammate again for the Sprint in China, Sainz struggled to overtake Fernando Alonso in front of him, and when he finally got to, he had major problems, which ultimately cost him places.
On Lap 16, the Ferrari driver managed to get ahead of more experienced fellow Spaniard, who wouldn't give up easily, fighting for the third place in the Sprint.
In the process, he picked up a puncture that forced him to eventually retire from the Sprint, but he also gave Sainz a very good fight for the third place, so much that Sergio Perez in Red Bull used the situation to his advantage and passed both drivers.
Alonso continued fighting Sainz, ultimately losing position to the Spaniard, and also to Charles Leclerc, who got a shot at his teammate only a few seconds later at the end of the longest straight at the Shanghai International Circuit.
With Sainz defending, the Monegasque driver attempted to go around the outside, but the Spanish driver completely missed the apex, sending his teammate off the race track in what was a really hard battle between the two.
Sainz subsequently made a mistake at the start of Lap 17, and Leclerc was less than impressed by that move during the race, complaining to his team on the radio.

"What the ****?"

After the race, Leclerc returned to the incident once more, complaining about what happened during the Sprint, saying that his teammate fought him much harder than the rest of their opponents.

"Let's speak. He's fighting more me than others, but anyway."