Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Ruled Out from Season Long Battle Against Max Verstappen

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Ferrari had a brilliant start to the season as it seemed that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would regularly challenge Max Verstappen for the win. This narrative stayed true till the Monaco GP, a race Leclerc won. However, ever since their last race win, the Italian outfit has fallen off. Now, McLaren has seemingly become Red Bull’s closest competitor. This is exactly why experts on the latest episode of The Race podcast effectively ruled the Ferrari men out of the championship race.

The Ferrari men have had two extremely poor outings on track in the last two race weekends. They’ve been convincingly slower than McLaren and arguably slower than Mercedes as well.

The upgrades they introduced in Barcelona did not have the impact they would’ve liked. This is exactly why the speakers on the podcast don’t see the Italian outfit in contention for the championship in the long run.

One of the speakers’ said, “McLaren has put itself in the same league as Red Bull. Ferrari is now in a similar situation as Mercedes where it can be a contender on the right sort of track. There are probably more victories in store for them during the season, I would imagine. But if you’re looking for the season-long battle, it’s Verstappen Vs the McLarens.”

Although this may seem like a harsh assessment for Ferrari and their fans, the results of recent race weekends seem to back this notion. The one major area where Ferrari are currently lacking is in high speed corners.

However, that is not the only worry that Ferrari have to deal with in recent times. A more heated conflict is also seemingly developing between Leclerc and Sainz.

Ferrari need Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to work together

Having lost ground in the developmental race to McLaren and perhaps even Mercedes, Ferrari needs to now maximize their results on every circuit. There will come tracks that will be favorable to them.

However, till then, the team needs to manage the growing tensions between Leclerc and Sainz. The two made contact during the first stint of the Spanish Grand Prix which invoked some fury in the Monegasque.

While Ferrari may still be able to manage Leclerc, managing Sainz could prove to be harder as the Spaniard will leave the Italian outfit at the end of this season. Hence, Sainz’s priority would be to get the best results he can for himself as doing so will help him receive better offers from other teams for a seat in 2025.

This is the opposite of what the team will want as such on-track battles between the teammates will hamper their collective goal. If Ferrari do not deal with the seemingly increasing tensions between their drivers, it may come back to haunt them later on in the season.