Carlos Sainz calms down Budapest controversies: “Received explanations, now looking ahead”. Carlos calms down Budapest controversies.

Carlos Sainz, a strange race in Hungary
In the qualifying session of the recent Formula 1 World Championship race in Hungary, Carlos Sainz didn’t shine as he failed to reach Q3 and was forced to start from the eleventh position on the grid. At the start of the race, Carlos Sainz on Soft tires, thanks to a lightning-fast launch off the lights, immediately followed his teammate Charles Leclerc on Mediums, who occupied the fifth position after the first corners.

Some had speculated about a position swap between the two Ferrari drivers due to the difference in tire compounds. However, that didn’t happen, and later the Spaniard expressed his grievances about the timing of his final pit stop. The pit wall called in Charles Leclerc first, who managed to overtake Carlos Sainz with an undercut, after the Monegasque lost position in the first pit stop due to a malfunctioning gun. “There’s not much to say, Charles had a slow pit stop, and they changed positions on the pit wall to compensate,” said the Spanish driver, hinting at some discontent.

Carlos Sainz calms down the controversies
In the following days, the Spanish newspaper Marca added fuel to the fire by questioning why Ferrari would slow down their fastest driver to favor Charles Leclerc. Indirectly responding to these insinuations, team principal Frederic Vasseur asserted that Charles Leclerc is not the clear number one driver for the Maranello team, and they work to provide both drivers with equal support.

Regarding this matter, Carlos Sainz himself also addressed it on Thursday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, without the slightest hint of controversy: “Of course, I’ve had my conversations with the engineers and strategists. I ask them questions, some more complicated than others, and we try to understand. I’ve received the explanations I was seeking, they gave me their feedback on how they saw the races. Now it’s time to look ahead. Finishing seventh or eighth is not something we should worry too much about at the moment.” – Carlos Sainz concluded.