Ferrari signed Sainz for the 2021 season as a replacement for four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. The former McLaren driver quickly formed an impressive partnership with Leclerc, both on and off the track, leading the Scuderia to finish third in the constructors’ championship, a year after posting their worst finish in four decades in 2020 (sixth). .
Sainz and Leclerc added five podiums and two pole positions for those from Maranello this year, which was a big step forward for the team in the face of the new regulations that will arrive in 2022 .
Despite forming one of the youngest line-ups on the F1 grid, Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies says the team is receiving “high-quality feedback ” from both Sainz and Leclerc, noting their motivation to learn and improve.
“We think that is one of the strengths that we have now, not only because they describe what they feel, but also because they have the will and the motivation to come back and work with us on finding solutions,” Mekies said during a meeting with a small media group in Abu Dhabi including Motorsport.com.
“They do it in different words, so together we can click on things. They don’t always agree, which also gives us an opportunity to see things in a broader way.”
“I think the short answer is that yes, we believe that part is working well. There will always be more things to come because of the way this is. But the way Carlos and Charles complement each other is, for the moment, the best there can be. “.
The Spaniard and Monegasque have also struck up a good friendship off the track, improving the atmosphere at Maranello as Ferrari tries to get back to the top. They are often seen together and have taken to playing chess in their first season as teammates.
However, Mekies believes that the association between Sainz and Leclerc is “deeper than being friends”.
“The level of respect, the desire to work together, the level of trust in each other as characters and in technical skills, is huge,” Mekies said.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc
“Both of them share the same drive to help the team recover. If you look at Saudi Arabia, we weren’t doing well on Friday night. We didn’t want to settle. We never want to settle.”
“And there was that spirit, it’s the penultimate race or whatever, just that spirit that there’s something else. We knew there was something else in the car that we couldn’t get out. Then the circumstances of the race were what they were, but if You look at the first stint of the race before the first red flag, Charles was comfortably fourth, [Sergio] Perez was behind. So in the end, the strong race pace came from there.”
“So I think in short, these two guys, the way they’re working with us, the way we’ve integrated them, the way they’re contributing is a very significant competitive advantage.”
“We don’t want to stop there. We want to develop it because we think there’s more to come. But it’s one of the strengths we have.”
