Charles Leclerc “not worried” about Carlos Sainz relationship after ‘clear the air’ talks

Charles Leclerc isn’t concerned that his relationship with Ferrari F1 teammate Carlos Sainz has been impacted after their run-in at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Leclerc was fuming with Sainz after the latter pulled off an audacious overtake in the opening stages of the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Leclerc felt that Sainz had gone against what was agreed before the race by not managing his tyres and overtaking in the process.

Sainz hit back at Leclerc, claiming his younger teammate 'complains too much’.

However, speaking ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Leclerc revealed that they had ‘clear the air’ talks on the way back from the race.

“For our relationship? Not at all because we came back on the same plane Sunday night,” he said in the pre-weekend FIA press conference at the Red Bull Ring.

“It was a matter of seeing each other and it’s all good. We had a discussion as always.

“The issue always seems huge from the outside but then between us we know each other so well for so many years that we know that after the race there’s tension.”

Leclerc feels the “tension” with Sainz was exaggerated due to being in the “heat of the moment” straight after the race.

“We are both in the heat of the moment disappointed with each other but then we speak together so all is good. I am not worried about our relationship going forward,” he added.

“It’s been a race which was a bit more tense which happened in the past. It’s maybe not the last time but all the time we managed that by speaking to each other and then it’s all good going forward. It’s just the same so I am not worried.”

Leclerc remains unconcerned that Sainz’s departure at the end of the season will result in more incidents like in Barcelona

“No, we’ve been working very, very well. I think in the past, again, I guess the question is more because of what happened at the last race,” he added. “But in the past, we also had those moments where it’s tricky in between teammates, especially when we are so close to each other that this moment happens and it’s all about how you deal with it afterwards, face to face, and I think this has always been done very, very well between Carlos and myself.

“So I have no worries about going forward, and I honestly haven’t seen any change since that is the case.  So, yeah, at the end, we are professionals and we know that it’s good for both of us if there’s a good relationship within the team and we stay together on track.

“Sometimes I’ll go a bit over the limit, sometimes Carlos will go a little bit over the limit, and then it’s all about speaking to each other and reset. And I have no worries going forward that it won’t be the case anymore.”

Sainz said about their row: “It’s obviously not the first ding dong and it will not be the last. 

"Because I think we always have one or two ding dongs per year, because it’s completely normal and completely natural when you have two drivers that are sharing the same piece of asphalt for 24 races. 

"We’re always starting P1 and P2, P2 and P1, P4 and P5, P5 and P6. There’s starts, there’s strategy, there’s overtakings, and with two competitive guys like him and me that luckily for the team are sharing the same piece of asphalt every race, there’s always going to be little ding dongs. 

"And these little ding dongs are always going to be there. You obviously want to keep them to the minimum and the important thing is that after four years with Charles the relationship has always been good, we’ve always solved these little ding dongs by ourselves without the help of team principals, always discussing them amongst each other. 

"Sometimes I would like to keep them out of the media because it doesn’t help any of us, and this is probably the biggest mistake. But apart from that, we are doing the best we can.”