A reputed Italian F1 pundit suggests that the mounting tensions between Ferrari’s current drivers could escalate rapidly. Over at Mercedes, there’s also notable discomfort in the cockpit, as Lewis Hamilton’s performance dips in what is his last season before he replaces Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.
“Lewis is in a surprisingly good mood,” Mercedes chief Toto Wolff commented to Servus TV during last weekend’s event in China, despite Hamilton’s significant missteps in configuring his car.
“I don’t know if it’s because he knows that next year he’ll go somewhere else,” Wolff continued. “But it’s not like him at all.”
But over at Ferrari, tensions between the actual drivers are now surfacing. It was particularly evident during the sprint race in Shanghai where Charles Leclerc criticized his teammate Sainz’s aggressive tactics. The situation worsened at the start of the Chinese GP, causing further strain on their relationship.
“It doesn’t help to lose two positions like that,” conceded Ferrari’s team leader Frederic Vasseur.
Sainz’s performance peaked earlier in the season but dipped during the qualifiers in Shanghai where he crashed in Q2. Vasseur acknowledged that poor grid positions were among the team’s primary challenges.
“It is difficult to have a complete weekend when we make many mistakes collectively,” he diplomatically stated.
Amidst the fierce competition between Leclerc and Sainz, Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, suggested that Ferrari might need to adopt a regulatory system similar to Mercedes to manage their drivers effectively.
“No other team has rules like that, especially not Ferrari, but now they have to do it too,” he told Sky Deutschland.
Ferrari insider Leo Turrini echoed the sentiment of brewing troubles within the team, indicating that early season skirmishes could signal deeper issues.
“We are just at the beginning of a very long season and the sparks of Shanghai are the promise of a fire,” he expressed in his Quotidiano column.
Former Ferrari boss Cesare Fiorio pondered Vasseur’s limited options in managing these emerging conflicts.
“I don’t know their contracts,” he mentioned to Corriere dello Sport, “but a loss of control by Sainz should have been taken into account at the beginning of the season.”
“Vasseur can’t do much about it,” Fiorio anticipated.
Meanwhile, Sainz, aged 29, looks to eventually secure his future with a contract renewal for 2025, reducing the pressure to prove he’s the fastest on the team.
“For the time being, we continue to weigh our choices,” stated his manager and cousin, Carlos Onoro Sainz. “Everyone can sleep peacefully between China and Miami, don’t worry.”
GMM
