Giorgio Terruzzi dedicated his usual in-depth analysis for Autosprint to the main protagonist of the Formula 1 weekend in Italy: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. The journalist was impressed by how, in such a delicate moment for him, the Spaniard faced the entire weekend at Monza, as well as how he is managing within a team that clearly favors Charles Leclerc. Below, we present an excerpt from his comments.
Carlos Sainz, Monza, and the future: Giorgio Terruzzi’s analysis
“He gained thousands of fans in just one weekend. Driving, pushing, holding on, standing his ground, in a race that could have cost him a lot, given the exposure and the expectations he had created by securing an amazing Monza pole position. Carlos Sainz: an absolute star in the first truly festive day for the red fans,” Terruzzi begins, recounting Sainz’s deeds in Monza. “He arrived in Italy with his head and foot synchronized to a finally friendly track (the only one truly favorable to this Ferrari), with the determination required to make a difference. Applying admirable discipline to both qualifying and the race, something he must have learned from his father, Carlos Senior,” he adds.
Then, Giorgio Terruzzi addresses the topic of hierarchy, praising Carlos Sainz for how he is handling his position within the team: “All this at a very delicate moment for him, as he would like to extend his contract by a year, until 2025, despite knowing he is in an uncomfortable position. Carlos Sainz understood, with the Mattia Binotto – Fred Vasseur transition, that he is in a minority position within the Scuderia, and he learned during this season to race under different conditions compared to Leclerc. The proof was in Monza when no order was given to maintain positions in the final laps, with Carlos in third and Charles in fourth, close behind, unlike what happened on other occasions when positions were reversed.”
Carlos Sainz had to fight in those moments, and not a little. “To cope, an accentuated maturity is needed, a rigor that goes beyond any hint of controversy, the ability to analyze what happens around and inside oneself. With the awareness of racing alongside a teammate who is popular with both young and old, not to mention the audience,” says Giorgio Terruzzi. Then he hits the nail on the head, writing: “In the face of a mistake by Charles Leclerc, comments are welcoming: a talent that pushes and dares at the risk of making mistakes. Something very true, of course. Although such treatment is not reserved for Carlos, whose missteps are treated with much greater severity. I’m talking about a champion who races under considerable stress, even though, for the second time in three years of coexistence, he finds himself ahead of Leclerc in the world championship standings. Whose management is starting to impress, given the calmness and control even in the most critical situations.”
“Sainz: an asset or a disturbance?”
“Sainz, an asset or a disturbance?” Giorgio Terreuzzi asks. It’s a question we all ask ourselves without being able to give a precise answer. The journalist concludes: “The issue is as old as the history of racing and is not on display given the World Championship standings. But Carlos Sainz’s future is played out within the family he finds himself in. That of his worth has and will need, assuming the desire to put two top-class drivers on the track prevails. As Mercedes does, for example, unlike Red Bull, which can afford any choice anyway. Meanwhile, Carlos broods and pushes. With the certainty that only in this way can he definitively earn a reputation of the highest order. Inside Ferrari or wherever he may be.”
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