The Spaniard infuriated his team-mate Leclerc, but managed to clinch another top-three finish
Charles Leclerc was irate at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, making his sentiments apparent over the radio to engineer Bryan Bozzi after Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz defied orders not to approach him.
Having seemed on course to overcut Sainz during the final set of stops, Leclerc was overhauled by the Spaniard, who dully secured another podium before he departs the Italian squad.
But was Sainz correct to reject the team, or will he regret the decision? Our authors have their say.
Sainz is within his rights to show Ferrari what it'll be missing – Alex Kalinauckas
Remember exactly how brutally Sainz fought Leclerc back in the China sprint race? Or the elongated same duel in the same location in Austin? Well, his ruthlessness against his team-mate erupted onto the GP scene in Vegas and, since it meant Leclerc got stalled for too long behind Max Verstappen, gained him a 26th F1 career podium.
In moving to Williams next year, Sainz has chosen the superior short-term choice in competitiveness terms over Sauber/Audi. But a Williams driver has not stood on an F1 podium since Belgium 2021 (albeit, in actuality, Baku 2017).
He really doesn't know when he'll reach the rostrum in F1 again given his forthcoming move down the grid, even if he and new team-mate Alex Albon believe Williams will continue on its upward trend under team manager James Vowles.
That alone justifies his choice to disregard Ferrari's instructions not to assault Leclerc as the other SF-24 emerged from its second stop in the Vegas night. That infuriated Leclerc, around some superb "Maybe try in Spanish" snark. Although only the command for Sainz to shift places – which he delayed executing – prior of their first serves was played out on the international feed.
It's not impossible to sense a certain level of irritation in Sainz's driving against Leclerc at times this year.
Ferrari selected the Monegasque as their long-term star even before signing Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes after Sainz had demonstrated so well against such a fast and highly-rated driver. He is normally the better of the duo when understeer comes into play – such as it did in Mexico and in a different way with the chilly surface temperatures in Vegas.
And until Leclerc got his act together on the hards in the Vegas race, Sainz had led the way for Ferrari – bar his little over-doing it at the first corner and slipping deep, opening the door for his team-mate. Perhaps he felt he was restoring the event's natural order by disregarding the team variety.
It comes with a risk that he might not be considered back at Ferrari in the coming years, as Sainz has been publicly indicating he'd desire if the time occurs.
But, considering how things may alter in short-term contemplation at the Scuderia, as demonstrated by its history with management and driver changes, Sainz violently choosing such an approach himself in 2024 could not even matter.
Sainz will be hoping he's not burning bridges - Oleg Karpov
All things considered, I think Sainz has handled this year quite well. And he's had a lot to handle - not just the awareness that he's going to be replaced by another driver but also the reality that other elite teams - with vacancies too - weren't rushing to hire him.
Read Also: Lingering After Verstappen Vs Norris In Austin
But he has produced on track and hasn't really uttered a single nasty word in the media about the unpleasant predicament Ferrari has put him in. And I always thought that leaving the door open was the best way ahead for the Spaniard.
Because what this year has demonstrated is that Ferrari is probably still the greatest opportunity for him to go back into a winning vehicle in the future. By behaving properly and speaking effectively with the outside world, he has only strengthened his prospects of a comeback on a day when Lewis Hamilton decides to retire.
It's still a long way off and the world will be a very different place in a few years' time, but Sainz's boyhood idol and good friend Fernando Alonso might be a fantastic example of why it's crucial not to destroy bridges.
We don't really know what happened in Vegas (and part of it will probably stay in Vegas forever), and it's impossible to dispute without knowing the contents of the pre-race negotiations. But if Sainz did manage to upset the team (he definitely did bother his team-mate by the looks of it) for the purpose of scoring another podium, it's arguably fair to wonder if it was worth it.
Yes, it may have been one of the last such possibilities for Sainz, but didn't he just make his future a bit more difficult?
Mercedes and Red Bull had the perfect opportunity to snag Sainz this year. The former had a vacancy, the latter still can't quite figure out what to do with Sergio Perez - and yet Sainz, a free agent, hasn't turned out to be as tempting a choice as you'd imagine. And there's no sign that their stance towards Sainz will alter in the future.
There are many in the paddock who feel that it was an internal disagreement with Verstappen and his clan during their Toro Rosso time that finally stopped Sainz from making a homecoming to the Red Bull family - and it's not too difficult to imagine it was one of the elements...
It appears like Leclerc will be with Ferrari for a few years longer than Hamilton. It obviously won't be he who selects who his future team-mate will be - but would Sainz still be on Ferrari's list if there's a bittersweet feeling left after this year?
