Leclerc vs Sainz 2022: Ferrari's internal battle
Sainz won his first race in Silverstone; Leclerc fought for the championship. Who was the better Ferrari in 2022?
The simulation's verdict
Neither Charles Leclerc nor Carlos Sainz would have taken the 2022 title in this car (2% and 0%).
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
Who finished ahead
Based on 200 simulations of the 2022 season. Numbers can vary each time you play.
Historical context
Carlos Sainz arrived at Ferrari in 2021 and in 2022 proved to be a top-level rival to Leclerc. The Spaniard even won at Silverstone. The question that divides fans: if Ferrari hadn't made strategy errors, which of the two would have fought better for the title?
The real 2022 season
The 2022 season ushered in a technical revolution: the return of ground effect, with cars designed to follow each other more closely and encourage overtaking. The new rules reshuffled the grid and gave Ferrari its best car in years, the F1-75. Charles Leclerc started flying, winning two of the first three races and leading the championship with authority. But the season unravelled completely for Ferrari: a string of failures — like retiring while leading at home in Bahrain and in France — and a chain of strategy errors squandered a lead that had looked solid. Max Verstappen and Red Bull capitalised on every slip with relentless consistency. The Dutchman fought back, strung together wins to reach fifteen in the year — a matched record — and sealed his second world title with four races to spare.
Real champion: Max Verstappen in the Red Bull RB18. Leclerc retires in Valencia while comfortably leading — the symbol of Ferrari's cursed season. See the full 2022 season →
The drivers
Charles Leclerc carries an enormous weight: being Ferrari's great hope in a title chase that has eluded them since 2007. The Monegasque grew up in Monaco, close to family friend Jules Bianchi, whose tragic death shaped his career. Full profile →
Carlos Sainz is one of the most complete and competitive drivers on the modern grid. Son of the double rally world champion of the same name, the Madrileño reached F1 in 2015 and built his reputation at midfield teams — Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren — always squeezing the car and going toe to toe with high-profile team-mates. In 2021 he made the leap to Ferrari, any driver's dream, and quickly delivered: a win at Silverstone 2022, the emotional Singapore 2023 victory that ended Red Bull's winning streak, and Australia 2024, the latter just two weeks after appendix surgery — one of the most admired physical comebacks in the sport. Edged out of Ferrari by Hamilton's arrival, in 2025 he took on the challenge of rebuilding Williams. Full profile →
How it's simulated
The engine recreates qualifying (Q1, Q2, Q3) and every Grand Prix with the ~20 real drivers of 2022, weighing each car's performance, driver skill, weather, safety cars and tyre wear. Learn how the simulator works →
Season
2022
Mode
Free duel
Tags
Choose driver, car and season. The engine simulates the full championship with real drivers.