Since Max Verstappen decided to occupy the top step of the podium for all his rivals (with victory ambitions), a very tough period began in Formula 1. In fact, for about a year now, the possibility of winning a Grand Prix is no longer solely a matter of one’s own strength; something also has to go wrong at Red Bull.
In the nineteen races won by Max Verstappen since the Miami Grand Prix in 2023, the role of ‘best of the rest’ has been fulfilled five times each by Lando Norris and Sergio Perez, and three times by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc.
But on the only two occasions when things didn’t go as planned for the Dutchman, the image of Carlos Sainz appeared behind him, a true sniper in deploying weekends with a great performance on the rare occasions when Max Verstappen’s Red Bull showed cracks. The careers of Formula 1 drivers and generally those of professional athletes, also go through these crossroads, being in the right place at the right time.
In Carlos Sainz’s case, his ‘being there’ was authoritative, an important stamp put last year in the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and yesterday in Melbourne, victories of high specific importance that change the balance of a Formula 1 season. For the Spaniard, who arrived in Melbourne without even the certainty of being able to take part in the race, the Albert Park weekend was probably the most rewarding since he started racing in Formula 1.
Charles Leclerc’s smile was very different, just a little bit. As is natural for a driver, the awareness of having had a competitive car, which remains good news for the future, was not enough to mitigate the disappointment of not having secured a victory that is missing for almost two years. It seems like an adverse script when some Red Bull gears jam, and Charles Leclerc finds himself alongside a teammate in better shape. For Charles Leclerc, just like last year in Singapore, even last weekend, the chances of winning the Grand Prix collapsed on Saturday in qualifying, which usually is one of his main strengths.
In Marina Bay, it was 79 crucial milliseconds of delay as compared to the time set by Carlos Sainz that determined his starting from the second row and the consequent unwelcome role of supporting driver, while last weekend in Melbourne, it was the decision made without careful consideration to intervene significantly on the car’s setup between Q2 and Q3.
Carlos Sainz was very clever in putting pressure on his Maranello teammate with the best times in Q1 and Q2, two results that convinced Charles Leclerc to make a change, a decision which turned out to be a boomerang. After the brilliant debut in red in 2019, Charles Leclerc has faced four seasons with a Ferrari almost never fighting for victory, making them very challenging championships where the Monegasque has relied mostly on his talent to give himself some satisfaction and most often this was achieved with some impressive fast laps in qualifying.
He often threw caution to the wind, an approach appreciated by the Ferrari fans, but it’s an approach that works when there’s nothing to lose, otherwise it’s not a method that pays off all the time. If in the qualifying session for the Melbourne Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc had been less hasty, he would probably have overtaken Lando Norris on the starting grid and in the race, he would have found himself behind Carlos Sainz from the first lap, with the theoretical chance to fight for the lead at the start or during the race. Finding himself behind the McLaren car meant a change in strategy was needed, a decision that took him out of the running for victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
In the hectic moments, Charles Leclerc needs the composure that Carlos Sainz has shown to possess; for the rest, no one who can distinguish a race car from a truck dreams of questioning what Charles Leclerc can give to the Maranello team and himself. If then the Scuderia manages to put its drivers in a position to constantly fight for success regardless of Red Bull’s troubles or level of competitiveness, Charles Leclerc will no longer have to hope for the perfect alignment to find victory, but the Monegasque will be called upon to field a complete package, where talent is a fundamental aspect but not an exclusive component.
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The one-two finish in Melbourne has brought a lot of enthusiasm back the Scuderia, to the point that Fred Vasseur himself, in the post-race press conference, hurried to temper the enthusiasm in order to avoid an unrealistic escalation of expectations. In the general euphoria, some have also returned to question the wisdom of choosing Lewis Hamilton for 2025.
In the space of two weeks, there has been a shift from regret for not being able to place Oliver Bearman in the role of main driver to regret for not keeping Carlos Sainz in place, considering Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello as an operation based on a lot of marketing and little substance on track. This sentiment is also felt, forgetting that just four months ago, Mercedes finished second in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of Ferrari mainly thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s performance, a leader among those drivers who couldn’t get on the track behind the wheel of a completely dominating Red Bull car.
The Melbourne race also provided a clear answer to hierarchy enthusiasts, those fans who love complicated plots within a team where a first and a second driver inevitably have to coexist and work together, always and regardless of the circumstances. The fact is that there will never be great serenity between two teammates; indeed, often beyond appearances, there is genuine sporting animosity. It is another matter to imagine fantasy scenarios, such as Carlos Sainz being demoted to a second driver role at the very moment when Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello was announced last February.
In Formula 1, the need to establish internal hierarchies can arise when a team is competing for a world title, a context where rallying around those with greater chances of success becomes essential.
In the absence of this scenario, the priority lies in the Constructor standings, which brings bonuses and cash into the teams’ coffers. It matters little to team principals who brings in the results; what matters is securing them one way or the other. The Melbourne weekend was yet another example of this, as was the Singapore Grand Prix last year. Carlos Sainz played his cards in the best way possible, having access to the same equipment and support as Charles Leclerc, and he managed to outperform his Ferrari teammate. This made all the difference. It’s black and white.
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