Carlos Sainz – Charles Leclerc, excitement at Monza
In the final laps of the 2023 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, the two Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, engaged in an exciting duel for third place, which meant being on the prestigious podium at Monza, in front of the sea of red-clad fans. And the battle was no holds barred, with close-quarters racing, smoking tires, and track limits being pushed.
In the end, it was Carlos Sainz who came out on top, the pole-sitter on Saturday, with Charles Leclerc joking with team principal Frederic Vasseur in front of the journalists, pretending to check his heart rate. The two Ferrari cars arrived safely at the finish line, putting on a show and clearly securing the title of “best of the rest” behind the unbeatable Red Bull, which had strung together fifteen consecutive victories between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.
Nico Rosberg’s analysis
Nico Rosberg, who was a bit surprised by Charles Leclerc’s post-race attitude, dedicated a lengthy and interesting analysis of what happened on the Sky Sport UK podcast: “I remember myself, in Bahrain (2014, a last-lap battle lost to Hamilton, editor’s note) after the race, I said, ‘Wow, it was the most fun battle ever.’ But that was the furthest thing from the truth. I was seriously upset and hurt to finish second behind Lewis, and it wasn’t fun at all. But we are drivers, and we always have to be a bit like Hollywood actors. We can’t always tell the truth, because we risk it coming back to haunt us.” – he pointed out.
“That’s why I was watching Charles – who had just been beaten by his teammate, who also sent him off the track at the chicane – saying, ‘It was super fun, a great day,’ having a beer with Carlos. I watched him and wondered if he was sincere or if he was doing what I did, saying the exact opposite of what he felt. But I think he was quite sincere, and I thought he was too much of a ‘good guy’ already in qualifying when he allowed his Ferrari team to give Carlos a tow twice instead of taking turns. Maybe he’s just a ‘super nice guy,’ but he probably is a bit too much.”
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