Charles Leclerc has insisted that he holds no worries over his relationship with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz amid the duo’s clash in Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Leclerc was enraged when Sainz overtook him into Turn 1 on the third lap during last weekend’s race at Barcelona against what he claimed was a pre-race agreement.
Sainz pinched Leclerc to the apex and handed his team-mate slight front wing damage, which he suggested cost him edging Mercedes’ George Russell to fourth spot.
However, the Spaniard seemed to dismiss Leclerc’s notion that there was an arrangement to hold position when he expressed the Monegasque complained too much.
Leclerc has disclosed that he and Sainz were on the same flight home and discussed the matter to ensure that the tensions would not be prevalent into this weekend.
Asked whether he harboured concerns that his partnership with Sainz has been dented with that latest flashpoint, Leclerc said: “For our relationship, not at all.
“Just because we came back on the same plane Sunday night and it was a matter of seeing each other, and yeah, and it’s all good.
“We had a discussion, as always, and I think the issue always seems huge from outside.
“But then between us, we know each other so well since so many years that we know that after the race there’s tension.
“We are both in the heat of the moment, disappointed with each other, and then we speak together and all is good.
“So I have absolutely no… Yeah, I’m not worried at all for our relationship going forward.
“And yeah, it’s just been one event and a race where it was a bit more tense, which happened in the past, and it may be not the last time.
“But all the time we’ve managed that by speaking to each other, and then it’s all good going forward. And it’s just the same, so I’m not worried at all.”
Leclerc proposed that Sainz’s ambition to pass him in the opening laps derived from the home hero’s desire to do something “spectacular” with his future unresolved.
But although Sainz will depart Ferrari to facilitate Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in 2025, Leclerc denied that the working connection with his current team-mate has altered.
Asked whether the dynamic within the Maranello-based squad had changed since Sainz was told he would leave, Leclerc said: “No, we’ve been working very, very well.
“I think in the past, again, I guess the question is more because of what happened at the last race.
“But in the past, we also had those moments where it’s tricky in between teammates, especially when we are so close to each other that this moment happens and it’s all about how you deal with it afterwards, face to face, and I think this has always been done very, very well between Carlos and myself.
“So I have no worries about going forward, and I honestly haven’t seen any change since that is the case.
“So, yeah, at the end, we are professionals and we know that it’s good for both of us if there’s a good relationship within the team and we stay together on track.
“Sometimes I’ll go a bit over the limit, sometimes Carlos will go a little bit over the limit, and then it’s all about speaking to each other and reset.
“And I have no worries going forward that it won’t be the case anymore.”
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