Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel completed their first year as teammates. A year marked by a collision between the two drivers. Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has come back to their relationship, which he considers very good.
Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel are team-mates, yet they seem to be in diametrically opposed situations – Leclerc at just 22 years old represents the future of Ferrari, which recently extended his contract until 2024, a rare sign of confidence when Sebastian Vettel could leave the team at the end of his contract at the end of 2020.
Yet both drivers are showing strong team spirit according to Ferrari boss Mattia.
“I’m very happy with the way the team spirit has developed. We are very united and supportive, including the drivers, despite what some people might have implied.
“An example? The Tuesday after the accident that involved Seb and Charles at the Brazilian Grand Prix, my phone rings and I see their two names on the screen.” says the team boss.
“They had called each other, reconciled and called me for a three-way conference, a far from insignificant gesture: it was proof of a remarkable spirit of cohesion.
“In fact, as far as Brazil is concerned, it’s better that an episode like this one happens now: it helps us to clarify things for next year,” according to Ferrari’s official magazine.
Binotto does admit that the team’s poor performance’s didn’t help the situation.
Ferrari are the perennial underachievers
Ex-F1 driver turned pundit, Karun Chandhok, thinks that they should’ve done far better than they did. He said on Motorsport Magazine’s podcast:
“Once again though Ferrari are the perennial underachievers.
“Sochi, the whole team orders thing was just a joke, on lap three you’re trying to impose team orders.
“In Monaco [during Q1] they didn’t send Leclerc out for another run. It doesn’t matter how many tyres you don’t have in Q2, if you’re out in Q1 in Monaco you’re finished.
“It’s just some fundamental things where you look at it and think ‘what are you doing?'”.
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