Sainz says Leclerc fan abuse was harder than Ferrari battles

Carlos Sainz says the hardest part of his Ferrari partnership with Charles Leclerc was not battling his team-mate, but facing abuse from some of Leclerc’s most committed supporters.

Sainz, who raced alongside Leclerc at Ferrari from 2021 to 2024 before the team replaced him with Lewis Hamilton, recalled their contests as intense but respectful. The Williams driver said they could fight hard when victories were at stake, yet he and Leclerc did not make contact and were able to settle disagreements privately.

Sainz says the rivalry stayed on track

Sainz described the pressure of competing for wins as a factor that could make drivers more self-interested and complicate efforts to follow a team’s preferred approach. He pointed to strong battles, including at Monza and Las Vegas, but said the relationship itself remained constructive.

He said disagreements were generally addressed after the race, once both drivers had cooled down. That, in his view, separated the actual competition from the more difficult atmosphere around it: public reaction and coverage had become sharply divided between the two drivers.

Sainz said some supporters of Leclerc insulted him or wished him harm. He also recalled Italian media criticism over whether he was acting sufficiently as a number two for Ferrari, with similar scrutiny applied when Leclerc was expected to do the same.

The pressure around Leclerc has continued to draw attention; F1LivePulse has also covered the scrutiny surrounding him at Ferrari.

Ferrari’s current tensions form a different backdrop

Sainz’s reflections arrive as Ferrari’s current driver pairing has faced its own flashpoints. Hamilton and Leclerc collided at Mexico City, where Leclerc received a five-second penalty. They had also clashed in separate incidents at Monza and Zandvoort, the latter involving Leclerc’s reluctance to follow an instruction to let Hamilton through.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur criticised both drivers’ respect for the team after the Mexico incident, while Hamilton said clear rules for the pair’s racing were missing. Sainz, however, said he understood why drivers fighting for a win might find it difficult to put the team’s ideal outcome ahead of their own chance.

His account draws a distinction between the strain of racing a team-mate and the intensity surrounding Ferrari. For more on Sainz beyond his Ferrari partnership, see F1LivePulse’s coverage of the Spaniard with Williams.