In both of Carlos Sainz’s wins in the past year, Charles Leclerc has fallen victim to Ferrari’s unfavorable team orders. In Singapore last year, the Monegasque, in P2 behind Sainz, was asked to maintain a gap of 3 seconds between them to fend off rivals behind. Similar team orders were issued at the Australian GP this year and the Japanese GP too. Leclerc, who was visibly frustrated at Suzuka after missing the podium, seems to have had enough of this.

In Japan, the Monegasque had a strong shot at P3. But because his teammate Sainz was already occupying that position, Leclerc was ordered to not engage with him. Instead, he was told to focus on defending his teammate from George Russell and Lando Norris, perhaps serving as a 2023 Singapore GP deja vu. Despite Frederic Vasseur’s orders not being in his favor, he complied respectfully. But he is highly unlikely to let more points be lost for the third time in a row with the Chinese GP up next.

“No one likes to finish second. I want to win,”  the Monegasque told Sky Sports Italy. “If there’s an opportunity in China, I shouldn’t let it slip away. I spent three days working in the simulator to figure out how to get the tires going,” he further explained, adding, “In China, there will be two Qualifying sessions and two races with the opportunity to score many points and I’ll have to be ready.”

Though Sainz is in the form of his life, with this attitude, Leclerc could even challenge the Red Bulls in Shanghai. In fact, former Ferrari manager, Peter Windsor believes that the 26-year-old will end the season dominating his teammate.

F1 Expert predicts Charles Leclerc will trump Carlos Sainz in 2024

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been impressed by Carlos Sainz‘s consecutive podiums. He even admitted that Leclerc is no match for this teammate’s current run. However, Peter Windsor reckons that the tables will turn at Ferrari by the time 2024 nears conclusion.

“We’re seeing Charles is under the under pressure now because he’s the chosen one and he’s getting beaten,” Windsor said on Cameron F1’s YouTube channel, while adding, “He’s got to start asserting his dominance but he doesn’t understand and nor do nor do his garage really understand why he’s not getting it together. They’re going in that direction at the moment and yeah it’ll come back for sure. He will come back and he’ll probably end the year dominating Carlos, I suspect.”

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The Chinese GP is returning to the F1 calendar after five long years. All drivers will grace the circuit with a nearly clean slate. Can Leclerc exploit the sprint weekend at Shanghai to get the ball rolling in his favor? Let us know what you think!