It’s fascinating how a single statement can conjure up a totally different scenario, resulting in a great deal of anger toward the entity.
And if you’re wondering who’s been being hammered, it’s Carlos Sainz, possibly the most popular driver on the grid.
It all started when a journalist in Madrid questioned the Spaniard about the Netflix documentary Schumacher, which had just been released. During the interview, Sainz expressed his displeasure with Ferrari’s treatment of Rubens Barrichello during the Brazilian’s time with Michael Schumacher.
“Definitely no. I wouldn’t be happy. I’m happy when I win because I came into Formula 1 to become world champion one day,” he said. Of course, this statement was not meant to belittle Barrichello, but it was quickly followed by tacky headlines accusing Sainz of mocking the 11-time Grand Prix winner.
Carlos Sainz statements
According to Speed Week, Sainz stated that he was not disparaging Barrichello’s work in any way.
“The question in Madrid was how I would decide if I could choose between Barrichello and Schumacher. So with my answer, I wanted to say that I would prefer the seven world titles, which makes a lot of sense to me. When I saw the headlines, I was very disappointed,” he said.
“I realize that not everyone works like this, but it just shows up once again. As soon as a medium takes over a message from another medium, which is, in turn, has from another medium and this again from another.
“Then in the end there is only one heading left, and all Brazilians are now criticizing me for allegedly downplaying what Rubens has achieved in his career. I wouldn’t be in a position to criticize Rubens at all. He won a lot of races, I won none.
“We’re good friends indeed, and I have a lot of respect for him. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I read such titles.”
Overall, Sainz has managed to defuse the situation before it becomes a major issue. Whether this hatred will come to an end remains a mystery.
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