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I'm starting to think his only goal is to beat Leclerc, doesn't care about either Championship and getting points.
I mean that has been absolutely clear since the first race. Sainz is a very quick driver especially in specific scenarios.
I think Ferrari should retain him if they want him to be their first driver. He is not a good second driver option.
Just for speculation's sake who would be a good candidate for the 2nd seat if we're assuming that they back leclerc to be a full #1 driver (which they should absolutely imo)
Albon? Hulkemberg?
I would go for them even if they should bet on Sainz. I don't know if Leclerc will renew with Ferrari. I think he'll wait to see the 2024 car.
Personally, i think Ferrari should bet on Sainz considering the cars they are producing year after year. Equally Leclerc should leave as fast as possible.
Does Ferrari in anyway benefit from split turbos being banned in 2026 since they are the only team still running the conventional front mount (iirc).
Ferrari only lacks in the electric recovery, the rest of the engine is maybe even better than the competition, you could check the early laps in the sprint race yesterday where the Haas mid straight was able to get back in the Mercedes and keep position. Haas is definitely not superior traction-wise to Mercedes and anyway it's mid straight past 100kph where engine power dominates.
The reason that Ferrari did not ask Leclerc to move over for Sainz is, IMHO, bound up with Leclerc's contract.
Leclerc almost certainly has a performance clause in the contract that allows him to leave the team if he is below a certain position in the Driver's championship on a specific date. These sorts of clauses are never talked about, but we know they exist. In 2014, Sebastian Vettel used a performance clause to take up an offer to join Ferrari after being beaten by Daniel Ricciardo for most of that season at Red Bull.
My guess is that the date for triggering that clause is 01 September or thereabouts. If Ferrari wants to retain Leclerc next season, they will be trying to give him priority to make sure that he scores enough points such that the clause cannot be triggered by him.
This is also the reason why Leclerc's contract talks with Ferrari are going "slowly". It is in his interest to slow-walk discussions until it becomes clearer whether he will have an option to leave before the expiry of his current contract.
Just for speculation's sake who would be a good candidate for the 2nd seat if we're assuming that they back leclerc to be a full #1 driver (which they should absolutely imo)
If Ferrari don't continue with both drivers, whoever they do continue with it looks like Albon would be a good catch for a 2nd driver. He's reliable, quick and would be very happy with a 2nd chance at a top team. Early last year I would have said Bottas, but for a while now his mind doesn't seem to be in F1. None of their current Academy drivers also look to be ready for a spot in F1, let alone Ferrari.
Just for speculation's sake who would be a good candidate for the 2nd seat if we're assuming that they back leclerc to be a full #1 driver (which they should absolutely imo)
If Ferrari don't continue with both drivers, whoever they do continue with it looks like Albon would be a good catch for a 2nd driver. He's reliable, quick and would be very happy with a 2nd chance at a top team. Early last year I would have said Bottas, but for a while now his mind doesn't seem to be in F1. None of their current Academy drivers also look to be ready for a spot in F1, let alone Ferrari.
Just watched the entire race (i was able to catch some laps here and there live).
Sainz had only a small advantage in the first stint, which was magnified by the DRS. In this track the effect is crazy also because there are many parts (i.e. sector 1 and 2) where dirty air impact is really low. As a matter of fact Norris was able to keep up with Sainz for multiple laps thanks to it.
Last edited by Xyz22 on 02 Jul 2023, 22:10, edited 1 time in total.
Just watched the entire race (i was able to catch some laps here and there live).
Sainz had only a small advantage in the first stint, which was magnified by the DRS. In this track the effect is crazy also because there are many parts of the track where dirty air impact is really low. As a matter of fact Norris was able to keep up with Sainz for multiple laps thanks to it.
"When you are behind, you are much faster with DRS and we didn't want to swap every two laps.”
This was exactly my reasoning as why they didn't invert the cars. I was watching the live timings and SAI was only quicker in S1. It absolutely baffles when a commentator (Jolyon Palmer) says something how impactful it actually is, because everyone just takes it at face value and runs with the narrative.
