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Vettel-Leclerc comparison was never going to happen

Vettel-Leclerc comparison was never going to happen

07-03-2019 19:01

Charles Leclerc may only be in his second season in Formula 1 and his first with Ferrari but he’s certainly impressing the masses however, this has not come as a surprise to F1 boss Mattia Binotto.

Leclerc signed for Ferrari from Sauber in 2018 despite only having one season under his belt, with Kimi Raikkonen going the other way. The Monegasque achieved 39 points in 2018 which put him 13th on the leaderboard as well as being the highest ranked driver from the Sauber team.

Leclerc impressed during pre-season testing but Binotto feels testing was about more than just speed.

Speaking at testing in Barcelona Binotto said: “Charles is a good driver, certainly very fast.

"But Barcelona was all about getting to know the new car, it was about the close contact between the pilots and the technicians.”

One topic which has been widely discussed is how Leclerc will compete against number one driver Vettel but Binotto insisted that was never a comparison they were going to make at testing.

“A real comparison with Sebastian Vettel was not possible and not the goal.

“At the end of the race, they drove lap times at eye level, underscoring Charles's speed,” added the Italian.