Carlos Sainz reveals Ferrari team orders plan for Formula 1 championship fight

The Spaniard helped bring home a 1-2 for Ferrari at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc (left) and Carlos Sainz (right) enjoyed a terrific start to the season with Ferrari in Bahrain. (Getty Images)

Carlos Sainz has been revealed Ferrari’s plan for possible team orders if one of the team’s drivers is competing for the Formula 1 world championship later in the season.

The Spaniard and team-mate Charles Leclerc are driving what seems to be the fastest car on the grid at this early stage of the campaign, and the Monegasque took victory with Sainz in second at the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend.

Former McLaren driver Sainz says either team-mate will be happy to help the other if one is competing for the title, but that the ideal is for both to be battling one another for glory.

“The team will allow us to compete and race each other,” Scuderiafans quotes Sainz as having told Spanish radio show The Great Match of COPE.

“Obviously, if one of us stands out and gains a lead in the standings, the other one will help during the championship fight. It happens in all teams. What matters is taking part in the battle. The ideal situation would be to compete for the title between us without having the pressure of other teams.”

Red Bull appear to be the Scuderia’s biggest competition right now, but the Milton Keynes-based outfit suffered fuel system issues in the final stages of the race at Sakhir on Sunday which caused both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to retire, meaning they sit bottom of the constructors’ standings heading into the second round in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

Mercedes, meanwhile, have won eight successive constructors’ championships since 2014 but are off the pace at the start of the 2022 season, with their W13 car struggling with intense bouncing at high speed on straights which compromises its performance.

27-year-old Sainz, though, believes that both Red Bull and Mercedes will be providing stiff competition in the months to come.

“Even if we brought both cars to the podium in the opening weekend we cannot exclude anyone from the fight,” Sainz said. “Mercedes will be back, Max Verstappen could also have won. I therefore believe that it will be a three-way battle for the title. We need to stay focused and try to develop the car correctly. Mercedes and Red Bull will improve rapidly.”

This is Sainz’s sophomore season with Ferrari, having beaten Leclerc by taking fifth in the 2021 standings behind the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers. He is expected to sign a new long-term contract with the team in the near future.