‘Carlos Sainz is not as blessed with talent as Charles Leclerc’

卡洛斯赢面is “not as blessed with talent” as Charles Leclerc, but Ralf Schumacher reckons he’s winning the Ferrari team-mate battle because he’s the more “level-headed” of the two.

When Sainz joined Ferrari in 2021, many believed he was stepping into Leclerc’s house and also into the 25-year-old’s shadow.

Sainz quashed that as he beat his team-mate in their first season together and while he lost out in 2022, this season he’s back on top with 150 points to Leclerc’s 135.

Level-headed Carlos Sainz v talented Charles Leclerc

Although they’re equal on race days, eight to eight, and Leclerc is leading qualifying by nine to seven, it is Sainz who is bringing in the better results on Sundays includingthe team’s only win of the campaignat the Singapore Grand Prix.

That Sunday it was clear Leclerc was his rear-gunner for the day, a position he wasn’t entirely happy with but one that helped Ferrari to what could turn out to be the only non-Red Bull race victory of this season.

Schumacher believes this year’s championship has seen a changing of the guard at Ferrari with Sainz emerging as the team’s “clear number one” driver.

And that, he says, is because of their different attitudes on the track with Sainz’s cool head beating Leclerc’s talent.

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“Leclerc is now a bit at a crossroads, I think,” the six-time grand prix winner told the Formula1.de YouTube channel. “He has to look now, because it’s no use having the eternal talent that is super fast but he doesn’t get it right in the end.”

Declaring that Leclerc “wants to take the crowbar and fight”, Schumacher feels the Monégasque driver at times pushes too hard whereas Sainz uses his head.

“Charles wants to make the difference with all his might and then runs over his car and also makes mistakes. Sainz is more level-headed,” he said.

That’s made the Spaniard the “clear number one” at Ferrari this season even though the German doesn’t believe Sainz is as talented as his team-mate.

“Sainz is not as blessed with talent as Leclerc. I’m pretty sure of that,” Schumacher said, adding that instead, the 29-year-old is the “more rounded package because he simply feels comfortable”.

Leclerc and Sainz are out of contract with Ferrari at the end of next season with the Monégasque drivertipped to extend for a further two seasonswhile Sainz has been linked to Audi.

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