New Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc says he hasn’t joined the team to play number two to Sebastian Vettel.
The 20-year-old said his contract does not tie him to a support role. However Leclerc said it is normal for teams to require one driver to help the other depending how the championship goes.
“I think it’s more or less like this in every team: you have two drivers that start the season on equal status and then at one point in the season obviously you see some team orders because obviously only one driver is playing the championship and the other is not.“I think this is normal, in every team it’s happening. But yeah I believe they will let us race at the beginning of the season.”
Leclerc says he only knows Vettel “a little bit” but revealed his future team mate had been supportive earlier in his career.
“He has always been very nice to me,” said Leclerc. “Every time I was going a good job in the simulator, once I was in Formula Two, he would always send a text and that was great. And it will be even better to work with him, for sure I have a lot to learn from him.”
Despite gaining a promotion to Ferrari in only his second season of F1, Leclerc expects to be a championship contender immediately if the car is quick enough.
“It is difficult to speak now but my target is to do the best chance possible with the car I will have,” he said.
“This year they have a car to win the title and if next year is the same obviously it will be then to win the title which is definitely a big thing but I will have to grow a lot as a driver. It will be to take the best result possible.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2018 F1 season
- McLaren staff told us we were “totally crazy” to take Honda engines in 2018 – Tost
- ‘It doesn’t matter if we start last’: How Red Bull’s junior team aided Honda’s leap forward
- Honda’s jet division helped F1 engineers solve power unit problem
- McLaren Racing losses rise after Honda split
- Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault
ColdFly (@)
13th September 2018, 13:58
sure that is true for almost every driver in their contract. But we all know what reality looks like in the big teams.
The problem is that the big teams tend to do this quicker (Mercedes did it a couple of years ago in Melbourne).
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
14th September 2018, 3:21
What are you referring to @coldfly ?
ColdFly (@)
14th September 2018, 7:19
2013 Brawn to Rosberg, @sravan-pe.
PS I’ve since learnt it was the second race a week later.
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
14th September 2018, 16:23
@coldfly Yeah, Malaysia not Melbourne :)
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
13th September 2018, 14:00
I mean that’s a nice notion and all, but this entire quote shows a worrying lack of understanding of what he’s stepping into.
“I think it’s more or less like this in every team: you have two drivers that start the season on equal status and then at one point in the season obviously you see some team orders because obviously only one driver is playing the championship and the other is not.
I think this is normal, in every team it’s happening. But yeah I believe they will let us race at the beginning of the season.”
I’m putting the over / under on 1995 (or 2 years before Charles was born) for the last time this was true at Ferrari, though I guess there might be an argument for the MAS/RAI phase.
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
13th September 2018, 14:25
Being a number 2 at Ferrari is still a huge upgrade to his current situation and he knows that if he performs better then Vettel it might not always be like that
altitude2k
13th September 2018, 14:29
If he can prove he’s better than Vettel then he won’t be their number 2.
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
13th September 2018, 14:31
@proesterchen to be honest, this year Seb and Kimi looked on par in the early stages of the championship
Patrick (@paeschli)
13th September 2018, 19:10
Saying he will be Vettel’s number 2 surely won’t help either @proesterchen ?
Maybe he knows exactly what he is getting into and wants to make it clear to Ferrari that he is gonna race for himself instead of Vettel.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th September 2018, 14:13
I’m number one, you’re number two, you’re lucky to be number two not number three
TribalTalker (@tribaltalker)
14th September 2018, 7:36
@johnmilk
(The Prisoner – TV series)
Joao (@johnmilk)
14th September 2018, 15:03
Muppets most wanted @tripperhead
A proper show
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
13th September 2018, 14:30
Here Charles says that Seb texted him in the past while in another article Seb says he doesn’t have his number. Who’s lying?
Potsie (@potsie159)
13th September 2018, 14:56
…I was just about to post exactly the same question. I think that Charles’ ‘promotion’ has irked Seb somewhat .. Seb is going to have to work a lot harder if he wants to keep Charles behind him (as compared to Kimi). I reckon that means that it is probably Seb who is not being honest about having Charles’ phone number.
Neil (@neilosjames)
13th September 2018, 15:50
Or they could both be telling the truth… Leclerc might have changed his number, or Vettel could have have lost his phone and all his contacts between then and now. Unlikely, but possible!
Potsie (@potsie159)
13th September 2018, 15:58
lol.. it is funny (and kinda sad really) that we are now speculating on which driver has which other drivers phone number(s) … how long do we have to wait for P1 to start so that we can do other things?
Potsie (@potsie159)
13th September 2018, 16:00
hmm… about 22 hours. I wonder if Nelson Piquet jnr still has Pat Symonds number?
DaveW (@dmw)
13th September 2018, 16:39
Vettel uses burners.
gotit
13th September 2018, 14:50
I would love it if he blows Vel away. And Vel becomEs no 2. I hope it happons. But I can see Vel wantin to play that game.
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
13th September 2018, 15:01
@gotit honestly, I don’t care. I’m a Ferrari fan, not married with Seb. Now Seb is our best hope to win, but I supproted Irvine or Massa at the same way I was supporting Schumacher or Alonso. Drivers come and go, the only faith is in the Red.
Fikri Harish (@)
13th September 2018, 15:02
If Vettel continues to drive the way he’s been driving for the past two and a half years, Leclerc won’t have to be the number two.
Vettel’s debut season with Ferrari was fantastic but he hasn’t been consistent enough to win a title, even though the car is good enough for that.
Todfod (@todfod)
14th September 2018, 8:46
I agree. His 2015 season was really strong. 2016, he was bad… I actually thought Kimi was better. In 2017, he was good, but not great. 2018, he’s been fairly mediocre.
When you compare that to the performances of his predecessor at Ferrari who was awesome at every season in that Ferrari, then you realise that Vettel just isn’t cut out for the job. I’m fairly certain that a Leclerc or another future talent is more likely to land Ferrari a title than Vettel is.
Racefan
13th September 2018, 15:18
Very unusual this situation. This young man has done nothing to deserve a Ferrari seat in my opinion. I feel sad for the drivers that have proven they belong on the grid. Ocon for example.
The legends of F1 not only had talent but were lucky they landed a good car early. Talent is not enough you need luck as well.
Potsie (@potsie159)
13th September 2018, 16:11
whooa .. you seems to have been watching a different F1 season to the one I have seen @racefan .. Charles certainly has done more than nothing this year to be in the position he is in. I agree that things do seem quite sad for Ocon
Racefan
13th September 2018, 16:17
Oh yes! He is beating his teammate who is practically a nobody in F1. Great accomplishment that.
David BR (@david-br)
13th September 2018, 16:46
@potsie159 Leclerc seriously impressed early on then faded, and underwhelming in wet weather, for whatever reason. So still unsure whether Ferrari shouldn’t have signed Ricciardo. A proven upgrade to Vettel and at an ideal career point for Ferrari, you’d have thought.
Potsie (@potsie159)
13th September 2018, 16:58
@david-br – that was my point exactly – ‘LeClerc serioulsly impressed early on…’ is clearly more than the ‘…nothing to deserve…’ that RaceFan stated, which is what I was responding to. Anything is more than nothing.
I had also hoped that Ricciardo would go to Ferrari, but it seems unlikely that will ever happen should Vettel be at Ferrari. Danny’s move to Renault has really shaken up the drivers market this year with some strange (and unfortunate – eg. Ocon’s present situation) outcomes as a result
David BR (@david-br)
13th September 2018, 17:08
@potsie159 Me too, I’d have liked to see Ricciardo at Ferrari. Leclerc could be a great driver there, it’s very possible, I’m just certain than I am about, say, Verstappen being a future champion.
Iosif (@afonic)
13th September 2018, 21:54
Sometimes science must investigate why the memory of the people following F1 (and some of those in F1 as well), stops at about 2-3 races’ time.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
14th September 2018, 8:21
Maybe start watching the 2018 season, then – because clearly you haven’t watched a large part of this year.
John due
13th September 2018, 15:44
I hope this is another ricciardo situation. Expose that boy Vettel.
Tango (@tango)
13th September 2018, 16:13
Though Vettel is better armed to deal with the situation second time around, and Leclerc is even younger and more inexperienced than what Ricciardo was at the time
Cristian S (@crystakke)
13th September 2018, 16:56
Too many people are blowing way out of proportion that 2014 season between RIC and VET. Ricciardo was keen to prove himself and Vettel had a donkey of a car compared to previous years. He even had more mechanical issues than RIC. So of course he lost interest and wanted to move to Ferrari. But there were a few races when he still cared, like when he almost got pole in the wet in Malaysia or finished 2nd in Singapore.
Todfod (@todfod)
14th September 2018, 8:57
@crystakke
Standard excuse given by Vettel fans for the thrashing he received at the hands of Ricciardo. Maybe straighten out a few facts if you don’t want people to call this a lame excuse made by Vettel worshipers. They both had the SAME car.. they both had relatively the SAME reliability / bad luck levels. Vettel did NOT lose interest.. he was trying his level best to beat his teammate.
I’m fairly certain that if Leclerc starts beating Vettel in that Ferrari, the excuses will sound like – Vettel wasn’t getting good treatment at Ferrari and wasn’t in the right frame of mind to keep racing. The car was designed around Leclerc as well.. so it didn’t suit Seb’s style any more. Vettel had worse reliability (although that might not be true). Vettel already had his eye on Mercedes, so he wasn’t motivated… blah blah blah
CareyPatrick (@careypatrick)
13th September 2018, 16:05
Knowing what I know now about how these things tend to go, I would politely tell my new driver that: 1) since it is your first year with the team, unless otherwise instructed, you are here to support our veteran driver. Then, based on how the season goes, maybe next season you will start out as equals. 2) No Tweeting, EVER. 3) We win as a team and lose as a team, nothing more, nothing less. 4) Any interviews must be conducted with a Ferrari rep present, otherwise, pack your bags rookie.
Blazzz
13th September 2018, 17:05
Lol are you a Seb fan? This rookie argument is nonsensical. In 2007 for eg, it was apparent from Canada that on pure and outright pace- Hamilton was quicker than Alonso. F1 is about beating your team mate. If Leclerc is quicker out the blocks than Seb, why demoralise him and put Seb ahead just because he is an elder statesman? Let them race fair and square. Then, when there is a clear points differential- the team will make the obvious choice as to who to back. Idk- maybe like how Ferrari managed their drivers in 2008?
Esploratore (@esploratore)
13th September 2018, 22:11
Indeed and vettel because of his many mistakes proved subpar in 2017-2018, to the point an alonso-quality driver would’ve got much closer in 2017 and won 2018, so IF they can find a better driver than vettel in leclerc, why not? They’ll need that to win a title with a same-performing car as mercedes.
Brian (@bealzbob)
13th September 2018, 17:16
I don’t think he has said anything wrong or controversial there. All common sense. He will know his contract too, so he knows whether it explicitly states he’s a number 2 driver, and he says it doesn’t so there’s no reason they won’t start the season on equal footing. He’s also right that at some point in ANY team a driver must support the other one if one is going for the title. The tricky bit of course is that it’ll be up to Charles to put the performances in which keep him in the title race, and if he doesn’t; by being the inexperienced driver at the sharp end of the grid; then he will support his team-mate as he has said he would.
Patrick (@anunaki)
13th September 2018, 17:23
I hope for him he has a chance against Vettel in a good car. But until now he only beat Ericsson in a Sauber car that has been pretty good this season. Part of the surprise is because of the car being a lot better than previous years.
YellowSubmarine
13th September 2018, 20:38
I suspect Vettel’s time at Ferrari is up. Even if he wins the title this year – which looks doubtful given the sheer number of mistakes he’s masking under pressure and the resilience of Lewis Hamilton – I think Ferrari have decided on Leclerc as their main driver, and are probably now fully focused on next year’s car.
This statement (“Leclerc says he won’t be Vettel’s number two at Ferrari”) hints at a fairly feisty character not ready to play second fiddle. Vettel, like Alonso, doesn’t do very well against such a teammate – and I fully expect that, should Vettel fail to win the title this year, Ferrari will replace him with someone else. Really. Ocon, maybe?
Esploratore (@esploratore)
13th September 2018, 22:13
Nah, he has a long contract; at worst vettel will have to play number 2, has to be an improvement on raikkonen, as sorry as I am that he had to leave ferrari.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
13th September 2018, 21:19
Ferrari are not as harsh as when the Enzo was running things. So I would expect Vettel to be nominally the no1, but still he will need to lift his game or Leclerc will be given the top spot.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
13th September 2018, 21:43
So in F1-speak, Leclerc is saying he’s ready to be Seb’s next best teammate.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
13th September 2018, 22:32
Yeah, Vandoorne wasn’t going to play second fiddle to Alonso either…
Forza Maldonado (@forzamaldonado)
13th September 2018, 23:51
I appreciate Charles’ optimism, but I can’t quite tell if it was PR-speak or if he’s just naive. The only way I see him not being stuck playing #2 to Seb is if either he just drives that well, or if Seb has a meltdown.
Or maybe this indicates Ferrari is getting ready to move on from Vettel? He certainly hasn’t been doing himself any favors since France.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
14th September 2018, 0:58
There’s a huge difference between driving a midfield car well and driving a top 2 car to its absolute limit (or just beyond it) to put it on pole and/or win races.
I personally don’t believe the hype about Ferrari having the better car. Vettel is a 4x World Champion in an era when there actually was competition for that honour, and he did that by being able to consistently lap his car right on the limit.
We’ll never know, or at least not until he publishes he bio, but I think you’ll find that a lesser driver in this year’s Ferrari (and last years) wouldn’t even be close to Hamilton such is the difference he makes in the car.
I have no doubt there isn’t a no 2 clause in Leclerc’s contract, there doesn’t really need to be. He’ll just need to focus on doing as good a job as he can to get close to Seb.
XB
14th September 2018, 1:49
All this Vettel hate.
Sure he stuffed a few races being aggressive. You don’t win by being courteous. These guys are paid top dollar to fight.
Behind the scenes. Vettel fly’s first class. Gets off the plane and sorts his teams luggage. He helps his team clean the garage so they can celebrate with him, a win or the WDC. He works with the engineers closely. He always got his friend/teammate to sign the extension first. He even tries to make post interviews more fun.
Never heard of Hamilton, Alonso or any other driver doing that.
I played semi-pro sport for a bit. When the game was on, my intent was to snap my opponent like a twig. After that I would be happy use my free time to help them move house.
David BR (@david-br)
14th September 2018, 3:17
Somewhere smaller with wheelchair access? :O?
bukester (@bukester)
14th September 2018, 2:01
Ferrari have always favored the #1 driver, the kid is a great talent but is a little naive. He may end up like Bottas ‘the Butler’.
joe jopling (@jop452)
14th September 2018, 6:01
If ego and confidence win World Championships…..he is there
Sauber team are rapidly improving…but Ferrari are a different proposition…and results are expected from him….add to all this that Charles was not the 1st choice of Seb and Arrivabene….next season should be interesting…..
rpiian (@rpiian)
14th September 2018, 9:51
Sure bud. I’ll believe it when I see it.