Damon Hill feels Japanese GP ‘not a good look’ for 32-podium F1 driver

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Damon Hill believes qualifying for the Japanese GP was ‘not a good look’ for Charles Leclerc as his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz elicited alarm bells for the Monegasque.

The 26-year-old is chasing a 33rd career podium as a Grand Prix driver at Suzuka this week. But Leclerc is also striving to show he is still the Scuderia’s lead pilot after Sainz won Ferrari’s first race of 2024 at the Australian GP. The 29-year-old also got the team’s only win in 2023.

Leclerc has not won a Grand Prix since he topped the podium for the fifth time in Formula 1 at the 2022 Austrian GP. Sainz now boasts three race wins after also topping the rostrum at the 2022 British GP and the 2023 Singapore GP, which denied Red Bull their perfect season.

Carlos Sainz responds perfectly to Ferrari dropping the Spaniard to sign Lewis Hamilton

Yet, despite Sainz being the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix in 2023, Ferrari will drop the Spaniard after the 2024 season after signing Lewis Hamilton. The Maranello giants gave the 39-year-old a multi-year contract this February to leave Mercedes and join Leclerc.

Sainz has responded perfectly to losing his seat to showcase his talents to the rest of the F1 grid. The Spaniard, who has 20 career podiums to date, beat Leclerc at the 2024 Bahrain GP and the Australian GP. He did not race in the Saudi Arabian GP due to appendicitis surgery.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Ferrari saw Sainz start his campaign with P3 and a podium at the Bahrain GP before winning the Australian GP. Leclerc finished fourth in Sakhir before making the rostrum in Jeddah with P3 and in Melbourne with P2. Sainz sits seven points shy of Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.

Carlos Sainz leading Charles Leclerc in qualifying for the Japanese GP is ‘not a good look’

Sainz, who scored 40 points in two races, could surpass Leclerc, who scored 47 points from three races this year, in Sunday’s Japanese GP. The Spaniard will be Ferrari’s lead driver after qualifying in P4 with a 1:28.682 time, compared to the Monegasque’s 1:28.786 to secure P8.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri and Hamilton will split the Scuderia racers on the grid for the race at Suzuka. So, 1996 F1 champion Hill thinks Leclerc is right to be upset after qualifying for the Japanese GP as Sainz being the lead Ferrari pilot again is ‘not a good look’ for him.

“There’s people who impressed a lot and their teammate, perhaps, hasn’t done such a great job,” Hill said on Sky Sports F1 (6/4, 08:23).

“You can only say the reason why Charles is unhappy is because he’s been beaten by a guy who’s really on top form [and] who is leaving the team. This is not a good look.”