Sainz Unhappy With Leclerc Battle: 'Didn’t Help Either Of Us'

Carlos Sainz made his feelings clear about the opening lap battle with his teammate Charles Leclerc, which lost both of them a couple of positions.

Carlos Sainz started the race one position behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver started from P6 and Sainz from P7.

Having a better start than his 26-year-old teammate, the Spaniard was able to get alongside going into turn one. What followed was basically a recreation of the Sprint race incident between Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

As the two Ferrari drivers went side by side through the long corner, there was less and less space for the Spaniard on the outside. He eventually ran out of grip on the outside of the turn and went wide.

In the meantime, both were overtaken, but George Russell, on the inside, and were also put under pressure by Nico Hulkenberg, who eventually overtook them within a couple of corners.

Speaking to the media after the race, the 29-year-old driver was asked to comment on the battle, which evidently didn't benefit both him and his teammate. He said:

However, despite their initial battle, Leclerc and Sainz brought home P4 and P5 finish, and the Spanish driver believes a better result wasn't possible for the team from Maranello this time around.