Vettel and Leclerc Ferrari's biggest problem, says former chief

Matthew Scott
Wednesday 6 November 2019 14:30

Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo says the Scuderia will struggle to recapture the glory years if they do not employ a 'number two' driver and focus their championship ambitions through a defined team leader.

Montezemolo was in charge of the Maranello outfit through Michael Schumacher's years of dominance and paired the German with a clear rear gunner for his time there, with Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa all fulfilling that role.

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc have demonstrated that neither would be happy to accept second billing, each ignoring team orders to benefit the other across a 2019 season that has seen Mercedes win a sixth world title double – beating the record set by Ferrari under Montezemolo's leadership.

He told Rai: "I always bet on one driver to win the title and the other to help bring points for the constructor's championship, and sometimes to take points away from our opponent to our number 1 driver.

"You remember Irvine? Remember Barrichello? Remember Massa? And remember that all of them have lost a title, especially with Irvine, a good driver but not a champion, he lost it at the last GP in Japan against a real champion like Mika Hakkinen.

"Barrichello was very important when he won the German Grand Prix. They all have been very important as the No.2 driver to help Schumi win the title and help Ferrari win the constructor's title.

"I think one of the problems Ferrari had this year was managing two top drivers like Vettel and Leclerc.

"I think a lot about the future for Ferrari. Leclerc is a really very fast, young driver. He surprised everybody, nobody expected to see him so fast in his first year but he talked too much on the radio.

"He is very good, but we have to careful. He has to grow in time, not too fast. This is a big problem."