Sainz curses former teammate and snaps back at Williams with strongly-worded message in FP1

17:48, 18 Apr

Updated: 23:15, 18 Apr

byToby Nixon

During the first free practice session in Saudi Arabia, Carlos Sainz didn’t hold back on the team radio. The Williams driver was frustrated with his former teammate Charles Leclerc, accusing the Monegasque of letting him pass in a very unconventional and awkward spot on the track. Sainz made his displeasure clear over the radio. Not long after, he seemed fed up with the constant messages from his team and told them he could manage things on his own.

Sainz not happy about Leclerc

Leclerc let Sainz pass at a suboptimal spot in the first sector, and the Williams driver wasn't best pleased by this. “F***. The Ferrari. Woah, it's so dangerous. He cannot let me by there. Please, someone tell the Ferrari not to let by people there. It's so dangerous."

Sainz snappy on team radio

Not long after, the team sent him instructions over the radio to do with the recharge of his battery. It was clear he wasn’t interested in hearing them. “Let me do whatever I want, please. OK, I know what I'm doing." Sainz exclaimed over the radio.

Sainz is still new to the Williams team, so, understandably, his communication style might take some getting used to. It's not the first time a driver's approach has required some adjustment from a team—similar situations have been seen before, like with Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing and Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly topped the first practice session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc less than a tenth behind the Frenchman. Alpine and Gasly will take some confidence from the result. FP2 gets underway in a few hours, and you can follow all the action that unfolds in Saudi Arabia here on GPblog.