Xyz22 wrote: ↑19 Jul 2023, 16:26
JPower wrote: ↑19 Jul 2023, 16:10
Xyz22 wrote: ↑19 Jul 2023, 01:14
Sainz is a very quick driver especially with cars that have a weak front end, which apparently is a Ferrari speciality. These cars though will never be able to win. In fact with the F1 75 in his 1.0 spec (a car capable of winning race) Sainz was nowhere near Leclerc and a had a gap similar to Perez from Max in race trim.
The real issue though is that Sainz is a very "political" driver. This is why i think Ferrari should retain him if they want to get rid of Charles or if he simply won't renew the contract. It doesn't make any sense to keep a driver that has very different needs in terms of balance and always put the team under pressure behind the scenes when you already have Leclerc.
We're a long way from the F1-75 1.0 so I don't know how relevant that is to this conversation. Every driver has cars that they are more comfortable with. Saying they won't be able to win is greatly simplifying the complexities of being quick in F1.
As for the rest, no team pairs drivers on what they prefer in a racecar. They want pace, that's it. Outside of Mercedes and McLaren, I can't really think of two driver pairings on the grid with similar styles. And thinking Leclerc isn't political given his management team is a laughable thought.
I never said Leclerc isn't political. Leclerc / Sainz pair makes very little sense for Ferrari. Do they want to bet on Sainz? That's a good option but they need to get rid of Leclerc in that case.
I don't see the issue of having the two. It's a great pairing. Leclerc asserts his authority on the track. On most days, Sainz will not qualify ahead of Leclerc. Ferrari simply need to stick to the "first driver on the road" strategies, rather than listening to Sainz's cunning plans to jump ahead of Leclerc
. The only actual problem here is how Ferrari end up screwing Leclerc because Sainz wants to do a different strategy to beat him. At Mercedes and RB, they never entertained this with Hamilton and Verstappen. If you were ahead, you would not get undermined.
A lion must kill its prey.