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Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has said that Ferrari had to the future when deciding on their 2019 driver line-up, caused by the recent surge in the number of young drivers coming into F1. Charles Leclerc, who will turn 21 in October, will replace Kimi Raikkonen as Sebastian Vettel's team-mate next season and in doing so will become the youngest Ferrari driver in 50 years.
Leclerc is a product of Ferrari's own junior programme and progressed through the ranks quickly thanks to his impressive results in feeder series, especially his dominant run last year in Formula 2. He has also impressed at Sauber, who is linked to Ferrari thanks to their title sponsor, Alfa Romeo.
Arrivabene told Sky Sports F1: "Times are changing. The most important thing is to keep our DNA but also to look forward to the future. If you look at the situation in the paddock today, Red Bull took Gasly alongside Verstappen and McLaren have Sainz with Norris who is a rookie. Looking to the future, Mercedes making the choice two years ago [appointing Valtteri Bottas to partner Lewis Hamilton] they already have an advantage.
The best way to be able to gain something is to make that choice and to grow up a talent that was born into the Ferrari driver academy."
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Replies (5)
Login to replymichielhimself
Posts: 132
If any young driver can emulate Verstappen's fast success after promotion to a top team, then it's Charles LeClerc so it's clear why he's doing it, but it remains a risk to himself and his career as well as to Ferrari. So the question that remains for me is, why is the Ferrari brand taking that risk? For Red Bull it was the kind of publicity they wanted but is that the kind of publicity that the Ferrari marque is after? If it were possible and up to me, I would have tried to place LeClerc at the Haas team for a year or 2.
Xtreme
Posts: 53
The reason why is above "Ferrari had to look to the future" It's not the first time Ferrari have done this. Gilles Villeneuve was contracted after just one race by McLaren. I realy like Kimi but I think Charles is the better choice here.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I actually agree. It was time for Kimi to move on to something else, and Im sure Leclerc will do well next year.
blade
Posts: 341
Im just surprised Kimi chose to stay on after that snub.
F1_IS_Dead
Posts: 123
They are not looking to the future, they are trying to repair their own mistakes from the past. It looks like they really believed to achieve something with the current driver pair...