Is Ferrari Focusing On Carlos Sainz Instead Of Charles Leclerc?

Ferrari had a strong start to the 2022 championship after a couple of winless seasons. Charles Leclerc had a brilliant start as he won the first two races while Max Verstappen and Red Bull suffered retirements. However, things turned around quickly for the Scuderia when they surrounded themselves by a storm of errors. The Monegasque and his teammate Carlos Sainz have retired several times from the lead due to the F1-75\’s reliability issues. In addition, Leclerc lost seven points in Imola after spinning late. He also dropped 25 points, and a race win in France after crashing while being in the lead during lap 18. 

As per the pundits, some grave strategy and pit errors have cost the Italian outfit and its drivers gravely. The most recent disaster for Ferrari came during the Hungarian GP when Ferrari pitted Leclerc on the hard tyres, which was clearly not the right decision. As a result, the Monegasque lost a lot of ground from the lead and had to settle with P6. The array of errors has landed Leclerc 80 points behind the leader Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, Carlos is in the fifth spot, 22 points behind his teammate. However, some recent comments from the Ferrari chief have suggested that the team might be shifting their focus on Carlos Sainz after the recent turn of events. 

Who Do Ferrari Prefer As Their Championship Driver?

The Scuderia chief Laurent Mekies claimed that Ferrari had no intention of putting their sole focus on Charles Leclerc at the cost of hampering Carlos Sainz\’s strong campaign this year. Mekies suggested that the topic of team orders had been discussed more on the outside than inside of the team. 

Further, the Ferrari chief claimed that they were clear about their target to get the best results for the team. Moreover, Laurent felt there would be a point when Ferrari might have to focus on one driver more than the other if required by the championship position. The 45-year-old reckoned that it did not mean that the team would wait for the mathematical difference. But, the decision would come when Ferrari felt it to be the right thing to do.

Mekies suggested that Carlos had three strong weekends in recent times and made great progress since the start of the season. Laurent admitted that the car did not suit his liking during the early stages. However, the team has worked with him, his engineers, and the professionals in Maranello to make sure the Spanish driver was comfortable in his car. Mekies conclude, \”We know we have two very, very good drivers. We treat them in a way that we can maximize our championship positions, and we want them as fast as they can possibly be.\”