Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris Engage in Trash Talk Amidst Intense McLaren-Ferrari Battle

The Big Two of Formula 1 are at it again. Ferrari knocked off McLaren to now sit in P3 of the constructor’s board. However, the love is still there, especially between former Papaya teammates Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. With Sainz now in the opposing team, the two had some interesting things to share about the McLaren-Ferrari melee.

After the race in Mexico, Carlos Sainz walked away with eight points while Lando Norris took home a single point. This was important for the constructor’s battle as the friends/opponents stepped it up at a post-race interview. Asking Sainz about the secret behind Ferrari’s surge, Norris cunningly asked, “Is it the bargeboard? Mid-deflector?”

To this, Sainz laughed in reply, “I told you since the beginning of the year.” The “trash-talking” didn’t stop there. When discussing which team has the win in hand with the varying circuits ahead, Norris took a dig at Sainz. “Carlos isn’t very good at high-speed corners.” Sainz then reminded Norris, “the McLaren is very good in high-speed corners.”

Read more: Toto Wolff Points the Finger at Valtteri Bottas for Max Verstappen’s Mexico F1 Win

As the ‘Carlando’ bromance continues to shine through despite the ardent battle between the teams, it’s endearing to watch the two drivers maintain their humorous and sarcasm-filled friendship with each other.

Carlos Sainz talks team orders in Mexico

Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris had an almost ideal relationship at McLaren. However, it looks like Sainz’s energy is contagious; the Ferrari debutant proved to be the perfect match for Charles Leclerc. There seemed to be a problem between the two drivers on the track regarding team orders, but once the helmets were off, there was nothing to be mad about.

Formula One F1 – Mexico Grand Prix – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – November 6, 2021. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in action with Carlos Sainz Jr. during practice REUTERS/Henry Romero.

There was a messy bit of radio conversation as Ferrari tried to attack Pierre Gasly, who was having a comfortable cruise around the circuit in P4. Therefore, Leclerc, in P5, was asked to swap positions with Sainz; whose tires were 12 laps younger than his teammate.

However, there was a minor speed bump in this agreement, as Sainz accused his teammate of willfully making mistakes to keep him behind. However, the race swung in their favor as they got ahead of their rivals; which was the ultimate goal.

Sainz said, “We put our head down, we showed the pace that we’ve shown all weekend–we were really quick. I managed to… obviously get the team order to go past Charles and then try and catch Gasly, but Gasly was very strong this weekend and we couldn’t make it stick.”

He added, “We did what we wanted, which was to outscore McLaren by a fair bit…now we go into the last four races of the season with the upper hand in the championship.”

With Ferrari being the ultimate package of teamwork and pace, it will be strong competition for McLaren for the eyed P3 position.

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