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Charles Leclerc is hoping to put pressure on Max Verstappen after securing P2 in the second Sprint race of the season at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP.
The Monegasque started the race in second place and never looked like he was able to challenge Verstappen for the lead. Instead, he spent much of the initial laps having to fend off Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
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Speaking to Naomi Schiff in parc-ferme after the 23-lap dash to the finish line, Charles Leclerc described his Sprint, saying:
“It was tricky. Obviously, the first part was all about managing but Max [Verstappen] was very quick and was pushing quite a lot at the beginning. I was just trying to control my tyres to attack at the end. I had a small fight with Carlos [Sainz] and towards the end I started to push. I was gaining a little bit, but it was very close overall. Tomorrow is the race and hopefully we can have as good a start as today and put a bit more pressure on Max.”
When asked if he felt he could bank on Carlos Sainz to work in tandem with him to chip away at Max Verstappen's lead in the feature race on Sunday, Charles Leclerc concluded the interview by saying:
“I really hope so.”
Will Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz be caught up fighting each other in the 2022 F1 Austrian GP?
Charles Leclerc needs all the support he can get if he is to have any chance of catching Max Verstappen in the race for the 2022 F1 world title.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old has not been able to count on his team or his teammate Carlos Sainz in the last few rounds of the campaign despite claiming that everything is fine in the Scuderia stables.
Speaking at a pre-race press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 Austrian GP, Charles Leclerc quashed all rumors of a rift between him and Sainz after the latter's win at Silverstone, saying:
“It is a shame to see all of this type of things. It is definitely not what is happening inside the team. We are a very united team, we’ve always been and it’s not these difficult races that will make it change. Were we disappointed after last weekend? I think we were because speaking about last weekend, we were one-two and we finished one-four so part of the team were disappointed.”
At the start of the season, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claimed that both drivers will be allowed to fight without team orders getting in the way. The Italian said:
“Yes, we are free to fight, obviously without taking any stupid risks because we are fighting for the team, and the ultimate goal is to bring Ferrari to the top. But we’ll be free to fight.”
Carlos Sainz, for his part, has capitalized on Leclerc's woes and is now only 12 points behind his teammate, a gap which can be easily covered in a single race. Hence, it is no wonder that the Italian team has been reluctant to dish out too many team orders. While Leclerc is the favorite to bring home a championship to the team, there is not much currently separating him from Sainz in the points.
It will be interesting to see the tact adopted by Binotto and Co. come raceday, especially considering how they have not covered themselves in glory with their shoddy strategy calls thus far in 2022.
