Sainz expecting further Leclerc 'ding dongs'

Carlos Sainz has conceded that his "ding dong" battles with Charles Leclerc will continue following their on-track incident at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Sainz and Leclerc collided in the early stages of the Barcelona race but denied there were overhanging tensions after the clash.

Both drivers have raced each other several times already this season with little separating the team-mates all year. 

Due to the pair being evenly matched this year, Sainz is not expecting their battles to end anytime soon. 

“With Charles, it’s obviously not the first ding dong and it will not be the last," Sainz told media including RacingNews365.

“We always have one or two ding dongs a year because it’s completely normal, it’s completely natural when you have two drivers that are sharing the same piece of asphalt for 24 races.

“We’re starting always P1 and P2, P2 and P1, P4 and P5, P5 and P6. There’s starts, there’s strategy, there’s overtaking.

“And with two competitive guys like him and me that, luckily for the team, are sharing the same piece of asphalt at every race, there’s always going to be little ding dongs."

Despite the incidents, Sainz and Leclerc have maintained a positive relationship, with the former believing that both drivers enjoy their duels. 

However, one thing Sainz is not happy about, is how it often boils over in front of the media. 

“These little ding dongs are always going to be there,” he said. 

“You obviously want to keep them to the minimum. And the important thing is that after four years with Charles, the relationship has always been good.

“We’ve always solved these little ding dongs by ourselves, without the help of the team principals, always discussing them among each other. Sometimes I would like to keep it out of the media because it doesn’t help any of us.

“This is probably the biggest mistake, but apart from that we’re doing the best we can.”