Tifosi Fans in Italy rejoiced this week when it was announced by Ferrari and Formula One, that Charles Leclerc had signed a newly reformed five-year contract with the Red Italians. This means that this youngster, who had an impressive starting season with Ferrari, will remain with the Italian team until 2024. Throughout his first season, Charles earned himself several pole positions and won two races. He finished the season fourth in the driver’s championship, which was one position higher than his teammate Vettel. Subsequently, Charles Leclerc has become the number one driver going forward, a necessary choice after the Monaco-Native driver beat Vettel in qualifying twelve times and defeated him on every head-to-head battle.
The Team Principal for Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, spoke on this announcement. He noted that after every race, the team’s executives wanted to extend their contract with Charles. It became clear that his capabilities were improving and that they needed this young driver for the 2021 season. Mattia, in his comments, said that the entire team is thrilled to have Charles for years to come and that he suspects new pages in Ferrari’s history will be written with this Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc has driven under the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2016. He made his debut in Formula One with Alfa Romeo, the junior team to Ferrari. After placing 13th in the 2018 Driver’s Championship, he was selected for Ferrari in replacement of Kimi Raikkonen. He joined Ferrari in the 2019 season, where he outpaced Vettel regularly. Going forward, Charles is the number one driver, and Vettel is the second. Subsequently, analysts anticipate that Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari in 2021.
Vettel & Leclerc’s Errors
The natural speed and overtaking capabilities displayed by Charles Leclerc rivalled Max Verstappen, who is slated to be a future championship titleholder. The improved skills he had over Sebastian Vettel caused significant issues between the teammates, with orders from Mattia Binotto often being in favour of Charles. It should be noted that Vettel hadn’t won any races this season and almost lost his super license from numerous penalties.
Even though Sebastian Vettel had multiple issues throughout the 2019 Season, Charles Leclerc had his fair share as well. The 22 years of age driver lost all performance in Bahrain, right at the time when victory was near. Ultimately, the Bahrain race resulted in Hamilton passing Leclerc. This was one of many mistakes made by Charles, which had analysts speculating if he’d return in 2020. However, he improved after the Summer Break and saw continuous improvements. This is what prompted the change in leadership for Ferrari’s drivers.