Nico Rosberg insists one Ferrari driver was 'OVER THE LIMIT' in Monza battle

Sainz, Leclerc, Vasseur — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Rosberg insists one Ferrari driver was 'OVER THE LIMIT' in Monza battle

The Ferrari pair weren't giving each other anything at the Italian Grand Prix and Nico Rosberg had a few concerns

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 5 September 2023 13:59

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Nico Rosberg has said that he believes Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were over the limit in their battle at the end of the Italian Grand Prix.

Having brilliantly defended Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez for as long as he could, Sainz found himself in a position where he had to cling on to third position at Monza, with his team-mate pushing him all the way.

In the end, Sainz did hold off Leclerc to take a well-deserved podium, but many have said that the battle between the pair was too much, and risked the overall team result.

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At one stage, Leclerc locked up his tyres going into turn one, and almost collected Sainz with him, which would have been a disaster for Ferrari at their home circuit where the fans demand so much from them.

The third and fourth placed finishes for the two of them was one of their strongest performances of the season, and had it not been for the supremely quick Verstappen and Perez in the Red Bulls, they would have been fighting for the race win.

Now, Nico Rosberg has said he believes that the team should come first, and the two of them fought too hard at the end of the race.

“I’m not sure what’s going on between Charles and Carlos. It’s a bit strange. Charles said he had such a nice fight, and he’ll have a beer with Carlos," he told Sky Sports after the race.

“I’m not sure about that. Seriously, Carlos on one of those occasions was over the limit.”

All smiles in the end at Ferrari

Sainz managed to bring home a podium for the team in front of their home fans at Monza, just the team's fourth of the season and his first

Rosberg himself knows of the dangers of fighting your team-mate too hard. He and Lewis Hamilton competed in three great world championship battles, and there was often contact between the pair, not least than at the Spanish GP in 2016, where they knocked each other out of the race, much to the dismay of team boss Toto Wolff.

Despite the battle at the end, both Ferrari drivers will come away from Monza proud of what they have been able to achieve in front of the Tifosi, particularly with the car underperforming for much of 2023.

They will hope that their excellent straight-line speed that was on show at Monza will them to improve their less than impressive record of just four podiums in the first 14 races of the 2023 season.