Carlos Sainz ‘angry’ after Charles Leclerc becomes ‘established’ at the top of the Ferrari order

Leclerc is leading the drivers’ championship and already has 38 more points than Sainz

Dylan Terry
Wednesday 20 April 2022 15:30 BST
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Leclerc has won two races so far this season while Sainz has largely played second fiddle for Ferrari
Leclerc has won two races so far this season while Sainz has largely played second fiddle for Ferrari (Getty Images)

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Carlos Sainz is “angry” about Ferrari prioritising Charles Leclerc ahead of him, according to former driver Ralf Schumacher.

Leclerc has won two of the first three races of the season in Bahrain and Australia and also came second to Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of his impressive start to 2022, the Monegasque driver leads the championship by a huge 34 points from George Russell.

Meanwhile, Sainz is a further four points behind Russell after two podiums and a DNF last time out in Melbourne.

And Schumacher believes the Spaniard is not reacting well to Ferrari putting Leclerc’s interests ahead of his own.

Speaking to F1 Insider, he said: “The pecking order at Ferrari is already established. Carlos Sainz knows that too and is correspondingly angry.

“There was a time when someone [brother, Michael] was very successful and it was also the case that you knew relatively early on which driver you were concentrating on.”

However, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has denied there being any favouritism between the drivers.

“It’s only three races which have been done now,” he said when asked about the dynamic between Leclerc and Sainz.

“There are still 20 races left, hopefully 19 or 20. So the championship is still very long. Our drivers are free to fight, and I am really looking forward and enjoying that they are battling for a good place, and first place, if possible.”

Ferrari are flying clear at the top of the constructor championship as a result of both drivers claiming podium spots while rivals, including Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, struggle at times with the different issues their own cars have been facing.

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