Leclerc reveals "hurt" of Sainz defeat

Charles Leclerc has revealed the "hurt" of being outscored by Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz last year.

The Spaniard joined the Scuderia from McLaren at the start of 2021 and finished the season fifth in the drivers' standings, beaten only by the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers and at the top of an intense battle between himself, Leclerc and former team-mate Lando Norris.

The duo will hope the new F1-75 will bring a competitive edge in order to challenge for pole positions and wins on a frequent basis as F1 enters a new era this year, and asked if being defeated by Sainz had hurt him last term, Leclerc replied: "Of course it hurts.

"It hurts for every driver. As soon as you finish behind your team-mate, whether it is in the championship or in one race, it always hurts. You always want to beat your team-mate.

"At the same time, whether I am satisfied with last year's season? Yes I am. There are some opportunities that I've lost, sometimes by not being lucky, some others because of myself just wanting too much and I am learning from it.

"I think one of the big strengths of Carlos is just being there all the time and every race he is always there.

"Sometimes I can be a bit too optimistic and this happened last year a few times and it cost me some points.

"So in the end, I paid the price, I learned the lesson and it hurts but I move forward. It is the past.

"As I said, it hurt in the moment but when I look back across the season, I am satisfied with myself."

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