Carlos Sainz will ‘be driving for himself’ but knows ‘other bosses are watching’

Carlos Sainz must drive to impress but must be “a team player” with future employers watching him, Martin Brundle says.

Ferrari driver Sainz has three options on the table for his 2025 drive - Alpine, Williams or Sauber.

As he decides, Sainz enters this weekend’s F1 Austrian Grand Prix needing to patch up his relationship with Charles Leclerc after their bust-up a week ago in Spain.

Sky Sports’ Brundle warned that the atmosphere within Ferrari will remain tense for the remainder of the season.

“It will be exactly the same until the last lap of the last grand prix,” he said.

“Carlos will increasingly be driving for himself. But he’s smart enough to realise that other team bosses will be watching.

“You’ve got to be a team player. They wouldn’t want to hire somebody who can’t follow team instructions. He won’t do that.

“He won’t yield either. Why should he? He’s been kicked out of his dream drive and now has to choose between the least worst options!

“I bet he’s hurting like crazy.”

Last weekend, Leclerc thought that Sainz disobeyed a pre-race team order.

Sainz insisted that Leclerc complains too much.

Team principal Fred Vasseur was forced to shrug off questions about his drivers’ relationship.

Naomi Schiff insisted that Ferrari must somehow manage the awkwardness between their outgoing driver, who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton, and Leclerc.

“That’s the trickiest part,” she said. “[Sainz] alluded that they sat down with Fred to get a talking to.

“There is a level of selfishness that you have to have. You can’t beat anybody on the track as an equal.

“Ferrari told Carlos ‘we don’t want you anymore’. So does he have to prove himself to Fred in any way? Does that talking-to have an effect on him anymore? A lot less, I would say.

“It’s a juggling act. How do you manage that relationship? It’s a tricky job. You’ve got to keep people onside, reduce the friction and the frustration.”