Both Ferrari drivers brought some fun for the fans at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were in a constant battle for third place in the final laps at Monza and the Monaco driver attacked Sainz several times, but the Spaniard managed to fend off his teammate’s attacks each time.
In the final, Sainz took third with a lead of 0.18 seconds, and Leclerc afterwards praised the battle between the two and explained that this is how races should be.
But 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, now a Sky Sports pundit, questioned Leclerc’s comments after the Monza final. And Nico is of the opinion that there have been recent changes in the hierarchy at Ferrari, with Charles no longer the sole and undisputed leader of the team.
Nico Rosberg: Charles Leclerc is being TOO nice to Carlos Sainz 😳
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“I remember very well the race in Bahrain in 2014, and after the final I said exactly the same things that Charles said at Monza,” Rosberg said – But this statement was far from the truth. I was actually very angry as I finished second behind Lewis Hamilton. And the race had given me no pleasure. Drivers cannot always tell the truth as it will have unpleasant consequences.”
“I watched very carefully Charles’ behavior, he was just beaten by his team-mate who even took him off the track once, at the stop for the first chicane Carlos locked the wheels and Charles had to pull off the track – explained Rosberg. – And then Charles said that the day was beautiful, that everything was fine and even that they were going to drink beer with Carlos. I was wondering if this was true or just Charles hiding his true feelings? But I think that, after all, Charles was speaking sincerely. Is he not ready to give in? On Saturday, he lost qualifying because of the team’s strategy of pulling Sainz twice on the straight, and he didn’t get such help. We’ll see what happens from here.”