Sainz to make his own plans at Ferrari: 'They see Leclerc as a title contender'

After a period of lesser results, the Monegasque had hoped for better times at Silverstone. In qualifying, things were already not going well with a fourth place on the grid, but in the opening stages of the race, things seemed to be going Leclerc's way. With the team not bringing him in during the safety car, he was forced to defend on old tyres against drivers on new soft tyres.

Leclerc still team leader?

That turned out to be an impossible task, landing him just off the podium. Martin Brundle, commentator at Sky Sports, notices a trend with the Ferrari driver. "He has not been on the podium in the last five races and hasn't won for three months notwithstanding six pole positions this season. It's not working well for him at Ferrari despite them clearly feeling he is the main championship rival to Verstappen."

The Italian team initially wanted to keep Sainz behind Leclerc, but he only managed to do so for four corners. Then the Spaniard shot past and Leclerc had to defend against Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. "As he led the restart this was abundantly clear, as was Sainz's response along the lines of 'no, I'm the one on the right tyres and in the right place to win this race. He saved Ferrari's day at that definitive moment, and I'm so pleased for Carlos and his family. And of course, the team."