Breaking news
Formula 1
Ferrari insists Leclerc "free to fight" Vettel
Ferrari Formula 1 team boss Mattia Binotto has moved to clarify that newcomer Charles Leclerc will be “free to fight” teammate Sebastian Vettel in 2019.
Valentin Khorounzhiy Scott Mitchell
Published: Mar 1, 2019, 4:34 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Leclerc has replaced Kimi Raikkonen alongside Vettel at Ferrari in the off-season, and Binotto confirmed during the launch of Ferrari's new SF90 challenger that the team would prioritise the four-time champion over Leclerc should “particular situations” arise.
This was interpreted by some as an admission that the 21-year-old Monegasque would be relegated to a support role in his debut Ferrari campaign, but Binotto has now moved to dispel such suggestions.
“Obviously the two will be free to fight,” Binotto said. “We will not ask Charles to go slow. Or Sebastian to be faster [than him].
“We need both of them to run to the maximum and try to do their best.
“But certainly if there is any ambiguous situation at the start of the season, Sebastian is the one who has got more experience, he has been with us many years, he has already won championships, so he is our champion.”
Read also:
- Ferrari making "statement" with Vettel/Leclerc claim - Wolff
- Binotto: Completely wrong to think Ferrari's ahead
Binotto hopes that making Vettel's 'priority' status clear from the get-go will benefit Ferrari, which was criticised on occasion last year for being overly vague in regards to team tactics.
“I think that it’s good as well for Ferrari,” Binotto said.
“When you’ve got your intentions clear from the start, at least you do not make mistakes when you have an ambiguous situation.”
The Ferrari SF90 has been earmarked as the class of the F1 2019 field in pre-season testing by its main rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.
And newcomer Leclerc has showed impressive pace during his time in the car, with his fastest lap from his final day on Thursday currently just one hundredths short of the best effort of the two-week test so far, set by teammate Vettel the day after.
“Charles is a good driver, certainly a very fast driver,” Binotto said. “Here in Barcelona he focused himself on understanding the car, working with the new team and engineers.
“I don’t think there was a relative battle on the track between the two [Leclerd and Vettel]. More important for us [is] to understand the car.
“They’ve done very similar lap times, true, but I think that’s demonstrating Charles is a good and fast driver.
“I think we knew that since the past. It’s many years [he's been] at Ferrari. We’ve seen that in the Sauber last year [as well].
“I don’t think Charles is a surprise in that respect. It’s not the testing at Barcelona that is telling us that was the right choice. It was certainly the right choice but the season will tell us more.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Russell accepts Williams slowest despite "big step"
Next article Vettel outpaces Hamilton by 0.003s as F1 test ends
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
Latest news
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
55 min
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 57 min
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
2 h
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe