Brundle: Sainz may fall into ‘supporting role’ for Leclerc

If he doesn’t start winning races soon, Martin Brundle feels Carlos Sainz may end up playing a “supporting role” for Charles Leclerc at Ferrari this year.

Leclerc took a dominant victory in Melbourne at the weekend, making it two wins out of three for the season after his P2 finish in Saudi Arabia.

With that, despite the Spaniard having finished on the podium behind his Ferrari team-mate at the first two races, Leclerc now has a 34-point lead at the top of the World Championship standings – and is 38 clear of Sainz already, after only three rounds.

Sainz spun out of the Australian Grand Prix after losing control at the high-speed Turn 9 at Albert Park while attempting an overtake on the second lap.

Despite being told to switch his car off, his desperation to get back out on track was such that he stayed in his car while the field took in two further laps, hoping to be pushed back into the race by marshals.

His car was beached though and, after his out-of-position P9 starting slot, he came away from Melbourne empty-handed.

After a couple of title near misses in the recent past, their potential this year means it's now time to take Ferrari seriously.

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Sainz was self-critical after the race on Sunday, but still hopes to pull himself back towards Leclerc at the top of the standings with a long way to go in the season.

Team boss Mattia Binotto said recently that the two drivers are free to continue racing against each other but, should Sainz not win or gain ground in the coming rounds, Sky Sports analyst Brundle thinks he may well be forced to play second fiddle at the Scuderia