'Ferrari move too soon for Leclerc'

'Ferrari move too soon for Leclerc'

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 9 January 2019 13:11

Charles Leclerc's move to Ferrari may have come "too soon" as he will likely have to serve as Sebastian Vettel's number two driver at the Scuderia. That is the view of former Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti, who says allowing the pair to race could come back to haunt the team.

Leclerc backed up title-winning seasons in GP3 and Formula 2 with a fine rookie year at Sauber, prompting former Scuderia president Sergio Marchionne to drop Kimi Raikkonen in favour of the Monegasque.

Article continues under video

The 21-year-old will become Ferrari's second-youngest driver in history at the Australian Grand Prix.

Although Andretti backs the youngster's talent, he remains concerned that Vettel is unlikely to be willing to give up the team-leader status he enjoyed over four years with Raikkonen at his side.

Andretti told Sky Italia: "The Leclerc-Vettel pairing seems correct, the alternative would have been to continue with Kimi because he and Sebastian got along very well. But we will see.

"Leclerc seems to be very good and being young means he has a good future ahead of him.

"It was Marchionne's idea to promote him but I don't know if this is the right moment for Leclerc.

"With two drivers in a team there must be a number one and a number two, having two number ones never works."

MORE: Leclerc 'honoured' by Hamilton title claim
MORE: Sauber 'pushed like hell' to develop 2019 car