Madrid-born Carlos Sainz isn't getting much love these days from his Barcelona compatriots if a report published by Catalan website El Nacional is anything to go by.
Last week, the Barcelona outlet published an article in which it claims that Ferrari is growing "tired" of Sainz and is allegedly "fed up with the excuses" coming out of the Spaniard's camp.
For good measure, the website also says that Charles Leclerc is "angry" with his Scuderia teammate.
Looking at the numbers, Sainz qualified among the top-five at each of the three races held so far this season, while he finished fifth and sixth in Bahrain and in Jeddah, and looked set to finish among the top four in Melbourne before a five-second penalty set him back to P12, much to the Ferrari driver's ire.
On paper, given that Ferrari's SF-23 has been no match for Red Bull's dominant RB19, while Aston Martin and Mercedes are on a par with the Scuderia, Sainz appears to be making the most of his equipment's potential and of circumstances.
Still, El Nacional – despite not providing a shred of evidence to support its claims – isn't giving Sainz a free pass.
"Ferrari is starting to get tired of Carlos Sainz," it wrote last week. "The Spanish driver is not performing in the team as expected, and they are getting fed up with the excuses from Madrid.
"The truth is that, for some time now, at Ferrari they are beginning to be upset with Sainz. He has not performed as expected. He has disappointed.
"They thought he would be a star driver and he is not showing it. The man from Madrid, beyond the problems of his car, is playing it this year.
"If he wants to continue, he must begin to show why he was trusted. But, at the moment, there is no hint of that."
©Ferrari
Further grinding its axe, El Nacional also claimed that Leclerc "is very angry at his teammate", apparently for not lending him a helming hand in qualifying in Australia.
It's true that a frustrated Leclerc was heard sarcastically thanking Sainz for giving him a tow in Q3.
Evidently, in the heat of the moment, the Monegasque was annoyed with the lack of collaboration from Sainz, but his own performance on his final flyer was also nothing to write home about.
Leclerc's grievances towards his teammate will have likely subsided in short order, especially as the Scuderia charger did little to improve his team's lustre on race day in Melbourne, when he beached his car at the first corner.
This week, Ferrari's drivers will regroup in Baku and start from a clean slate after a three-week break. And it will be business as usual for Leclerc and Sainz.
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