Formula One boss Ross Brawn believes that the signing of Charles Leclerc to Ferrari will galvanise his new team-mate Sebastian Vettel, with the German looking to get over this season’s disappointment.
Leclerc will be racing for Ferrari at the start of the 2019 season, after a very impressive rookie season for Sauber – he will be replacing the 39-year-old Kimi Raikkonen.
Vettel’s season ended in a near-disastrous way, with the German making too many individual mistakes and essentially gifting Lewis Hamiltonhis fifth world title.
Brawn believes that the arrival of Leclerc will act as an “extra incentive” for Vettel in 2019.
“Charles Leclerc has been truly impressive in terms of speed and talent, but now he has to make a significant step-up,” Brawn explained. “I’m sure his arrival at Ferrari will be a boost for the team and an added incentive for Vettel next year.”
Questions have been asked about the hierarchy at Ferrari, considering the advantage they had for the majority of the 2018 season. For the first half of the season, they had the quicker car and there was confidence oozing around Scuderia.
“When one doesn’t win a world championship that had seemed very winnable, it’s inevitable that questions are asked in order to understand what went wrong,” Brawn added.
“When the team in question is Ferrari, then the question is not just asked at the top but it becomes almost a national question in Italy, as I was able to see for myself during my decade in Maranello. Ferrari is condemned for finishing second in both championships, as it’s simply not good enough at home.”
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