According to Motorsport Italy, Scuderia Ferrari has decided only for Charles Leclerc to drive the SF90 mule car that will test the 18-inch Pirelli tires in Jerez. The Maranello team focuses on the driver who also has a contract for 2021, so Sebastian Vettel remains on the bench.
A choice that explains a situation: Charles Leclerc will be the Ferrari driver in charge of developing the 18-inch Pirelli tires in the two-day test at Jerez della Frontera. The young Monegasque driver will take part in the Andalusia test on 8 and 9 February with an SF90 mule car to become familiar with the new tires that Formula 1 will adopt in 2021 on the new single-seaters.
Pirelli will dedicate one day to 18 inches and another one to the more traditional 13 inches 2019 which will be mounted on a red car to have adequate comparison data. In case of bad weather there will be a reversal of the test order which opens the 25 days of testing that Pirelli has agreed with the FIA and the teams.
Interestingly, Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has decided to give this opportunity only to the driver which has a contract valid for next season (Charles has extended until 2024), while Sebastian Vettel’s current agreement is available only until the end of the 2019 Formula 1 season and will have to negotiate a renewal during the season.
The vision, therefore, is very clear, and Motorsport Italy agres with this, but others suggest that a new Scuderia hierarchy can be hinted at given the approach to the season for the two drivers.
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