It is Ferrari‘s moment to shine. The 10 teams and hundreds of thousands of fans have made it to Monza to witness an absolute spectacle at the ‘Temple of Speed’. Their home ground is suited best for their 2023 challenger. Furthermore, Carlos Sainz started the weekend in style, celebrating his birthday with his team and the Tifosi. To add some spice to the celebrations, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur mischievously tried to pull a prank on the Spaniard. However, not only did the ‘Smooth Operator’ save himself but also got back at his boss.

Friday turned out to be a very great day for Sainz. The birthday boy finished P2 in FP1 and improved his time by nearly 1.5 seconds, topping the time charts in FP2. But let’s turn the clock back by a few hours. That was when the entire Maranello team was celebrating the Spaniard’s birthday in the motorhome. A big cake was brought out. As soon as he went to blow the candles, Vasseur unleashed the troublemaker in him to push Sainz’s head into the cake. But his plans immediately failed as the racer’s conditioned reflexes saved him.

The Scuderia Ferrari Instagram page, collaborating with Sainz, posted a video of the entire comical short movie. They captioned it: “Fred always gets the last laugh 😂 🎂”. But the 29-year-old racer couldn’t agree less with them. He reposted the reel on his story, captioning it: “Not this time Fred 😂😂 Grazie a Tutti!”

Read More: 3 Weeks After Intimate Exchange, GF Rebecca Donaldson Shockingly Remains Silent on Carlos Sainz’s Birthday

Sainz obviously came out on top in this one-upping contest against his boss. Moreover, his performance and feedback on the car’s performance did eventually give Vasseur something to be joyous about.

Carlos Sainz surprised by Ferrari’s increased pace at the Italian GP

Ferrari hasn’t constructed the fastest of cars this year. And the SF-23’s inconsistency has plagued their drivers from earning big points. However, surprisingly, at Monza on Friday, Carlos Sainz was flying. The car felt so good that he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“It can’t get much better than that,” said Sainz. “It was a smooth day, to be honest. It’s great to be back at a track like Monza and from the first lap of FP1 to feel the car normal again after such a difficult weekend at Zandvoort. We put the car on track. It’s the same car basically, but for some reason, it just felt a lot better.”

Watch This Story: Ex GF’s Strong Connection with Ferrari Persists Despite Shocking Charles Leclerc Breakup

Can he continue this run of form in Qualifying today and finally gear up for his 1st podium of this season at the Italian GP?