Jolyon Palmer admits 29-year-old was nowhere near his teammate’s level in Las Vegas

Follow us on Google Discover

It was a mixed weekend for Ferrari in Las Vegas this weekend with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz coming away from the track with varying emotions.

Speaking on the Chequered Flag Podcast, Jolyon Palmer was reflecting on the penultimate race of the Formula 1 season.

Ultimately, it was a successful weekend for Frederic Vasseur’s team as they closed the gap on rivals Mercedes.

Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had contact that saw them fall down the order, opening the door for Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz should have been starting on the front row of the grid in Las Vegas.

However, the Spaniard’s luck has very much run out this year and he was subject to a ten-place grid penalty after changing parts of his engine.

His car was destroyed by a loose manhole cover but there was no room in the rules to remove his penalty despite it not being his or the team’s fault.

Sainz then plummeted to the back of the grid after being caught up in the carnage at turn one and drove well to pick up eight important points at the chequered flag.

However, Palmer has admitted that Sainz was never on Leclerc’s level in Las Vegas after the Monegasque narrowly missed out on his first win of the season.

His move on Sergio Perez on the final lap showed how in tune he was with his car even on old tyres.

The 29-year-old hasn’t been able to match Leclerc’s pace in qualifying all season but does have the bragging rights of being the only driver to win a race not in a Red Bull this year.

Leclerc on different level to Sainz in Las Vegas – Palmer

Speaking about the Ferrari pair, Palmer said: “He was pointing backwards at the first corner, there was a load of drivers that had the second incident behind the Verstappen-Leclerc moment and Sainz was right at the back of the field.

“To come back and get some reasonable points is OK, I feel a bit sorry for him.

“It’s a weekend of huge razzmatazz, the Ferrari was at its most competitive all year and through no fault of his own he has a ten-place grid drop, today he’s pointing the wrong way.

“I don’t think he was on Leclerc’s level in truth this weekend, but he shouldn’t have been fighting down towards the back.

“He was in the midst of a battle, every time we saw Sainz he was with Alonso for most of it and he was with Hamilton.

“There was a load of big-name drivers fighting it out down the field, it was probably a good fun race for him but not where he wants to be fighting.”

Leclerc and Sainz will be desperate to carry their form from Las Vegas into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

They’ll feel that they’re more than capable of making up the four-point gap between them and Mercedes.

The difference between second and third is worth tens of millions of pounds.

The celebrations in the UAE will be significant in the Ferrari garage if they manage to overturn that deficit.