The Las Vegas Grand Prix noticed—but once more this season—Carlos Sainz racing with out contemplating Ferrari’s greatest pursuits.
Charles Leclerc can now not tolerate his dismissive habits, particularly when the main target ought to be on the Constructors’ Championship.
Carlos Sainz like Didier Pironi: defying orders
The Spanish driver made headlines on Saturday in Nevada by securing a podium end. Nonetheless, post-race controversies had been removed from absent; in truth, they had been greater than justified given his unacceptable angle.
Throughout the race, the 29-year-old disobeyed group orders on two events: first, delaying a place swap with a sooner Charles Leclerc by demanding that the group name him into the pits as a substitute of letting him move; then overtaking Charles Leclerc as he exited the pit lane after his ultimate cease, securing a transfer that finally earned him the rostrum.
To be clear, Ferrari’s group outcome wouldn’t have modified; a 3rd and fourth place was the utmost achievable. Nonetheless, that’s not the purpose. The difficulty is that Carlos Sainz constantly ignores pre-agreed group methods, as famous by his teammate.
“Not following group orders is comprehensible; in any case, he’s already been let go by Ferrari,” one would possibly argue. But his outright disregard for the group is much from respectable.
Disagree with what you’re being requested? Supply a short clarification and ensure you’re continuing in a different way—it might actually earn you extra respect.
Given how a lot pleasure Carlos claims to have, why undermine Ferrari’s Constructors’ Championship battle? At that stage of the race, the precedence was to maximise the outcome for each drivers to achieve as many factors as potential in opposition to McLaren.
To reiterate, in hindsight, Ferrari achieved the absolute best outcome (making the ending order between the 2 irrelevant for the group). Nonetheless, in the course of the race, nobody might have identified that.
What’s undeniably vital, although, is Carlos Sainz’s dismissive angle, displaying no dedication to a title that—relating to “private pleasure”—ought to matter to him.
What higher method to go away Maranello than by serving to the group win a championship after 16 years? What higher legacy than to be fondly remembered by the followers? For Carlos Sainz, nonetheless, it appears extra essential to reinforce his private report with a podium than contribute to a Constructors’ title.
Charles Leclerc has had sufficient
On the opposite aspect of the storage, Charles Leclerc is fed up, having all the time prioritized the group’s pursuits. At Silverstone in 2022, regardless of being in competition for the Drivers’ Championship (a marketing campaign that ended poorly), he swallowed the inexplicable determination to favor Carlos Sainz’s late-race victory, even after dominating the race with a broken entrance wing. At Singapore in 2023, he intentionally gave Carlos Sainz a security hole to assist him safe Ferrari’s solely win of the season, stating after the race: “What issues is that Ferrari gained.”
Now, nonetheless, he finds himself listening to that Sainz was advised to not assault him, solely to see him overtake with ease and with out hesitation.
With solely two Grands Prix left in Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari profession, one factor is obvious from his 4 years at Maranello: he has all the time raced for his personal pursuits, displaying little respect for a group working in the direction of a shared purpose moderately than a slim, unrealistic ambition of being the higher driver.
Sadly for the followers, not everyone seems to be like Villeneuve or Leclerc; some are like Sainz and Pironi. And the primary to acknowledge this might probably be Enzo Ferrari himself, who turned his ardour into an impressive actuality and all the time emphasised: “Ferrari first, all the time earlier than the drivers.”
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