The Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc has been neck and neck all season. Without malignant competitiveness to ruin their excellent relationship, the drivers have been crucial in giving Ferrari an advantage over their rivals. Their partnership has been pure through and through. In a recent interview, the two revealed what makes them the powerful pair that they are.

Showering his teammate with praise, Sainz revealed what he admired about his teammate. “I think Charles Leclerc is the best qualifier on the grid. He is one of the greatest if not the greatest talent in F1 now, and I am actually getting to learn now, why he is performing at such a high level.”

Although Sainz has only shared garages with the Monegasque for a year, he seems to understand the driver’s strength. “It is not only speed. Charles Leclerc has also a very good work ethic. He is very good at team building. He has a lot of strengths that make him such a strong driver and I am loving the challenge to be honest.”

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While comparing with the other drivers on the grid, the Spaniard made a strong claim. “I know there is no one better than Charles Leclerc probably on a single lap in a Ferrari F1 car.”

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in an intense midfield battle

With a championship battle reflecting the one further up the field, the battle for P3 has been just as intense. With Ferrari’s upgraded PU being a magical boost for the team, McLaren’s hopes for P3 are far from reality.

However, what remains interesting is that apart from Ferrari’s recent upgrade, it ignored developments for the SF21. “Except for the power unit later on but the power unit, again that was a development in view of 2022, so all our efforts from the very start of the season has always been the 2022 car, we never compromised it.”

Mattia Binotto also explained that their 2021 battle was all perchance. “We knew that we could have fight for the third place at the start of this season, we knew it could have been very tight but we knew that our main objective in 2021 was not third place but to try to improve in all the details as a team and third place has simply been an output of it.”

Crediting the surprise success to the hardwood of the team in Maranello, Binotto added, “It has made a lot of progress in terms of strategy, the way we manage, the communication with the drivers, the understanding of what we are doing…

With a powerful car ready for the final two races of the season, Ferrari will have a good chance at getting the coveted P3 position. As the season comes to a climax, will the Italian outfit hold on to its comfortable lead?

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