Leclerc and Sainz meet, pact for the title

Were we so loved? Or maybe not. Separated at home? Or maybe. The cohabitation between Carletto and Carlitos is ending amidst mutual complaints and inevitable suspicions. And the curious spectacle has an exceptional observer: a certain Lewis Hamilton, in a few weeks work colleague of Leclerc.

The deal

The verbal brawl after Las Vegas he immediately triggered the emergency plan. Fred vasseur, the head of the Prancing Horse's racing department, is known to exude good nature from all his claws: so that on the night in Nevada, after having publicly downplayed the effects of the conflict, well, the French manager immediately called a meeting Leclerc e Sainz. Vasseur addressed a very clear message to both of them: "here nobody is asking you to be best friends, you still have two weekends to spend together and the Ferrari he expects, or rather, demands!, a loyal collaboration. Because the constructors' world championship is at stake and giving up the remaining hopes in the name of individual whims would be intolerable". As far as I know, Carletto and Carlitos have promised to be good guys. But go and trust them...

The grudges

In four years of partnership, Leclerc and Sainz have rarely had a winning car in their hands. In practice they have shared the good opportunities (six wins Charles and four Carlos), sometimes helping each other and sometimes ignoring each other. Humanly, the relationship has been dignified. The legitimate choices of the Scuderia have spoiled the climate: the Spaniard was dumped, the Monegasque obtained a contract extension. Cohabiting in the presence of opposing states of mind became increasingly difficult: in the end, the doubts of both translated into episodes of the match always on the edge. In Las Vegas the argument was spectacular: but it is also true that Ferrari did not suffer any damage, the Reds could not have obtained more than third and fourth place. However…

In Qatar

But now there is a very strong need for cooperation without tricks. Saturday in Qatar there is the Sprint, Sunday the GP. The McLaren seems to have lost the magic touch. The Papayas still have a 24-point lead. That's not a small amount, but not a huge amount either. A brace on Sunday is worth 43, so we understand each other. Teamwork will be essential, right from qualifying (giving each other a slipstream can make the difference in the hunt for pole, just to give an example). Will our guys manage to avoid telling each other to go to hell again?