Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s Formula 1 sporting director, is fond of the team’s duo at the driver line. He claims that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr partnership is “as good as it gets”.
Sebastian Vettel, four times world champion, left for Aston Martin at the start of 2021. It opened an opportunity which was filled by Sainz, who switched from McLaren.
Duo of Sainz and Leclerc helped Ferrari bounce back from the worst ever position for the team. Ferrari dealt a blow in 2020, when it finished sixth on the constructors’ championship. The lowest place in last 40 years for the team.
However, duo managed to strike thrid place for the team, despite teams’ full focus on 2022 car.
Mekies applauded the youngest driver line-up on the F1 grid. He appreciated five podiums with two pole positions by Sainz and Leclerc. This helped the team to better position itself before the start of new regulatory era in F1.
Mekies appreciated both drivers which provide “very high quality feedback”. It also shows their interest in the team and motivation to improve further.
“We think it’s one of the strong points we do get now, not only because they describe what they feel. But also because they have the will and motivation to go back and work with us on finding solutions,” Mekies said at Abu Dhabi.
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“They do it with different words, so we can click things together. They don’t always agree, which again gives us a chance to look at things in a wider way.
“I think the short answer is yes, we think that part is working well. There is always more to come because of the way it is.
“But the way they complement each other, Carlos and Charles, is at the moment as good as it gets.”
Both drivers hold a good faith between themselves. It creates a constructive environment for the team. Sainz and Leclerc have become more than just team mates, friends.
Mekies believes the partnership was “deeper than being friends”.
“The level of respect, the level of desire to work together, the level of trust in both as characters and in technical abilities, is huge,” Mekies said.
“They both share the same drive to push the team to recover. If you look in Saudi, on Friday night, we were not great. We didn’t want to settle for it.”
