Ferrari duo contradict each other over “private” talks about sprint race clash

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz appear to have contradicted each other regarding their F1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race clash.

Leclerc and Sainz came to blows during a heated battle over fourth place during the Shanghai sprint race on Saturday morning. The pair made light contact at the Turn 14 hairpin while squabbling for position, having both lost out to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. 

Leclerc immediately criticised Sainz for being “over the limit” in his defence and stated he wanted to talk to the Spaniard about the incident.

After outpacing Sainz in regular qualifying, which took place later on Saturday, Leclerc claimed a “private discussion” had taken place.

“Yes, it is all done and it is all good. No problems,” Leclerc is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.

“I am not going to disclose all the details of our discussions because it is always private discussions and it should remain private but the discussions went well and we are all fine.”

However in contrast to his teammate, Sainz said there had been no time to discuss the clash in between the sprint race and qualifying.

“The reality is that we didn't manage to talk, because obviously with this format it's not like you get time to talk with each other much. We will probably do so tonight,” he explained.

Sainz went on to downplay the contact, saying: “There's nothing spicy about it. There's nothing to say or do. I think we were racing really hard in the sprint. We were racing very hard also some of the other cars, and I didn't complain.

“It's just a matter of obviously keeping as much space as possible to your team-mate, which I will always try to do and I've always done in my career.

“It's just, yeah, I was in a bad spot there after the car damage from Fernando, the floor was completely broken, a lot of dirt on my tyres, so it's not like I could have done a lot.”

Leclerc and Sainz are due to line up from sixth and seventh on the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.