Leclerc 'hated' Sainz in moments at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has revealed there have been moments of hatred between himself and outgoing team-mate Carlos Sainz.

The 26-year-old conceded that there have been "many" such occasions "inside the helmet", but ultimately that he will miss the Spaniard, who he shares a "really good relationship" with.

Sainz will leave Ferrari at the end of the season, with Lewis Hamilton taking his place at the Italian team.

The 29-year-old and Leclerc have provided the Scuderia with a strong and consistent line-up since 2021, one that has often been more equally matched than anticipated.

That has led to a few occasions where the pair have come close to blows on track, such as the Italian Grand Prix last season and at Silverstone in 2022, where Sainz claimed his maiden grand prix victory.

However, Leclerc feels that with everything being "over-analysed" and "over-criticised" those moments have been blown out of proportion and that their relationship allows for discussions after such incidents.

"I think just Carlos the person," the six-time grand prix winner replied when asked on the Beyond the Grid podcast what he will miss the most about Sainz. "I think we get on very, very well.

"Unfortunately, with the world as it is now, everything is over-analysed, over-criticised. But the reality of things is that we always had a really good relationship.

"And yes, there's been many moments where, inside the helmet, I hated him and he hated me because we didn't view the situation in the same way, but everything was fixed after a discussion between us two.

"As I said, we get on very, very well. We share many interests, and we had a lot of memorable moments that I'll remember forever."

'That was always the case with my team-mates...'

Whilst his dynamic with Hamilton is yet to be determined, Leclerc is relishing the prospect of partnering the seven-time drivers' champion.

The Ferrari driver explained he feels "lucky" to have enjoyed such strong and open relationships with team-mates throughout his F1 career. 

"It can happen," he said when it was put to him that some drivers just leave the circuit and let it fester when they clash with team-mates.

"I feel like I've been lucky in my career, at least in Formula 1, that I always ended up with drivers that were really open to the discussion, and that I also called separate what was happening on track, and then the off-track relationship that was really important as well.

"And that was always the case with my team-mates. So on that, I've been very happy, whether it was with Marcus [Ericsson], with Seb [Vettel] or with Carlos."