Carlos Sainz has been called the genius in the sport quite a few times this season after his remarkable move on the Mercedes drivers to secure his race win, however, not many seem impressed with the Spaniard anymore as Oscar Piastri and George Russell were not having it with the driver during the FP1.
Sainz has been the only driver this season to get his team a race win amongst all the Red Bull wins. However, his antics once were being labeled as genius have now become an unbearable occurrence. The Spaniard tussled with George and Oscar over his FP1 run while his slow driving ruined the practice for many.
Carlos Sainz gets in trouble with Oscar Piastri and George Russell
Carlos Sainz was once hailed as a genius for not just the amazing skills he showcased to curve the Mercedes drivers and win the race but also for managing the strategies that got him and his team some crucial points. Nonetheless, not many were impressed with his Abu Dhabi practice outing.
George Russell and Oscar Piastri were some of the few drivers who participated in the practice sessions alongside F2 champions and drivers, however, Carlos Sainz’s run during the race ticked the drivers off. The Spaniard was driving unusually slow in the middle of the track leaving no space for the rest of the drivers to test the track and their car.
everyone coming for carlos today omg 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/x79MIPD7pj
— clara (@leclercsletters) November 24, 2023
Oscar Piastri’s radio message soon heard a sarcastic comment saying, “Classic Carlos. Just sitting in the middle of the road, I see nothing’s changed.” While Goerge Russell has his very own issues with Carlos’ shunt. The Briton said on the team radio, “That Ferrari is going so slow in the middle of the straight there. Dangerous.”
The two drivers made it clear that they were not impressed with Carlos Sainz and his practice session.
Carlos Sainz crashes out in FP2
Carlos Sainz had a few issues that he dealt with during FP1 as he was seen driving as slow as a snail in the middle of the track, however, the car showed only more issues when he crashed out in FP2. The driver was already having trouble controlling the car.
The driver said he was feeling pretty good about the car and his last outing at the Abu Dhabi GP until he could not control the SF23 at a fast speed and soon snapped and crashed into the barriers. The crash caused the Ferrari to have intense damage to the right side.
A scary moment for Carlos Sainz who finds the barriers at Turn 3 👀#AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QSH6LwIcZW
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2023
Sainz commented on the car saying, “But in the end, again, with these safe cars you can get away with these pretty big hits pretty untouched. And that’s the case now, I’m obviously a little bit sore but nothing to worry about. I just couldn’t control the car. It just snapped on me and it’s those moments where you feel like you’re a complete passenger and you wish you maybe would have done something different.”
Although Sainz’s practice did not go as he planned it to, he definitely left a bad impression on Russell and Piastri who were quick to mention how unimpressed they were with his outing.