Charles Leclerc was unsatisfied with his performance in Brazil and asked Ferrari to switch him with Carlos Sainz. Sainz, on the other hand, was relieved to have a “easy” Sunday and finish third in Sao Paulo.
Sainz overtook Sergio Perez for third place despite having to make an unscheduled pit stop early in the race to fix a jammed tear-off in his brakes. The Spaniard benefited from a final stint on soft tires. Sainz seemed more happier on Sunday than he had on Saturday, when he was complaining about the five-place grid penalty that had forced him to start seventh after finishing second in the Sprint on Friday.
Carlos Sainz
After having to stop so soon due to flaming brakes and needing to make an earlier pit stop than desired in order to commit to a three-stop strategy, “Yeah, I believe it was a tremendous fightback,” the driver said. That was the slower approach, but I felt like I had to give it my best,” he remarked.
I gave it my all and then some. We had a flawless race and finished on the podium, which we well deserved. A race that goes smoothly and without missteps.
As for Leclerc’s desire to switch drivers at the conclusion of the race, Sainz replied only that he is encouraged by the podium for next season.
I feel like we’ve had a strong second half of the season with the car, and I’m back to the place I want to be; when I have a smooth weekend, the podiums are there, and I’m up to speed and confident for next year.
Sainz said, “I heard nothing on the radio, I simply was informed,” in reference to Leclerc’s plea.
As everything was going on, Leclerc revealed why he had requested that he and Sainz switch places on the podium. Ferrari told Leclerc the move was “very hazardous” because of the potential consequences.
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According to the Monaco native, “I don’t generally ask these sort of things, but we had these conversations before to the race, so that’s why I inquired about it. We reneged on that plan for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on at the moment.
In Abu Dhabi, we’re hoping to be fast enough to move up to second position in the rankings. I really, really hope we don’t end up third since we were three points short of second.
Leclerc was pleased with his performance on Sunday despite recovering from an early incident that saw Lando Norris get a five-second penalty for spinning Leclerc into the barriers. The Monaco driver departs Sao Paulo tied for points with Sergio Perez, who finished eighth in Brazil.
In conclusion, Leclerc is pleased with his performance. After the restart, “obviously I need to replay the photos the first lap,” he stated. “I believed I gave Lando plenty room to maneuver, but I believe he had a second and touched me before I crashed into the wall.
A strong showing in the latter stages allowed us to finish in fourth place.
