Christensen: Sainz must win to win back

Tom Christensen, the famous Danish racer, nine-time Le Mans winner, often visits the Grand Prix, also because he occasionally acts as a steward. While participating in the F1 Nation podcast, he shared his thoughts on the situation the Ferrari team was in at Imola.

Tom Christensten: “I think Carlos is very unlucky. Obviously Charles Leclerc did much better at Imola until he made a mistake at the Variante Alta chicane, so it’s not easy for Carlos at the moment.

But he’s not really lucky: during qualifying in Melbourne the session was interrupted by red flags and before that race his car had problems with the electronics, forcing him to change the steering wheel at the last minute. There were difficulties at the start and when he came forward he flew off the track and did not earn any points.

During qualifying it started to drizzle in Imola and Carlos crashed the car, unable to keep it on track after attacking the final curb on a fast lap. I think many in that situation wouldn’t have avoided the mistake, although he later said he didn’t even attack at full strength.

Then I spoke to his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., and he takes this situation very calmly. However, Carlos himself also understands everything well and gives quite mature estimates of what is happening. Obviously he’s upset, and now, to really recoup, he needs a win. We need to get a good result for Ferrari.

There is no doubt that Ferrari is betting on Leclerc. On the one hand, in this team, as in Red Bull Racing, they try to have two equally fast cars, on the other hand, Leclerc, like Max Verstappen, has absolute confidence in himself and his abilities, and it is very difficult to for him. These are the two best drivers in the championship right now and they have the best cars.

With these cars you can fight for the championship win, and in such a situation the teams should definitely give priority to the driver with the most points in my opinion. But to beat the opponent it is necessary that both riders perform as Red Bull performed at Imola. Such results mean a lot to the team, give it new strength and contribute enormously to the right psychological attitude.

But Charles Leclerc’s mistake surprised me. Imola is Ferrari territory, there’s a whole army of Scuderia fans and all that. In addition, a few days ago, Leclerc was the victim of a robbery and lost his watch. In general, as a Ferrari driver, you always feel the pressure. And when you fight for the championship title, the pressure reaches the ultimate level.

Charles went to the pits, got soft tires, then they did the same at Red Bull, not just to let him get the best lap, but just to make it to the finish. I admit that Leclerc made a mistake in this situation, not even because of pressure, but just exaggerated.

He drove to the Variante Alta, thinking the soft rubber would provide more grip, and drove too wide on the curb. He was taking an unnecessary risk, although he may have already realized it the moment the car started spinning. Unfortunately, he was unlucky, the car was stuck to the stop and the bow was damaged.

Had this not happened, Charles would have just returned to the track and finished third. And so he was forced to go to the pits, losing a lot of points.