Column: What does Charles Leclerc's contract mean for Sebastian Vettel?

The news that Charles Leclerc has received a bumper new contract at Ferrari has gone down well with fans and team alike, with the Monegasque racer tied down for five more years at the team. With the youngster already showing what he's capable of, what does this mean for Ferrari's other driver, the experienced - but ageing - Sebastian Vettel?

The German only has one year left on his contract, and surely he must be feeling that he needs to perform in 2020, or he's out.

When we think of Vettel, two completely different drivers come to mind. Firstly, the dominant Red Bull monster. He'd take pole, race away in the first few laps never to be seen again by anyone on track, unless he was lapping them.

Secondly, we have the recent Vettel. Mistakes, frustration, and crumbling in crucial moments, Vettel has lost his way a bit at Ferrari and perhaps the Scuderia have recognised Leclerc as their big hope for the future, hence the contract.

Vettel has also had the misfortune of coming up against Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in recent years. 

In 2017 and 2018, the two were hard to separate in the first part of the year, but after the midway point, Hamilton pulled away, securing both titles with races to spare.

Vettel has given himself a reputation for spinning or crashing in crucial moments, especially whilst battling. He's found himself facing the wrong way in races such as Italy 2018, Japan 2018 and Bahrain 2019 whilst battling with rivals.

But perhaps his most embarrassing moment was the crash whilst leading the German Grand Prix in 2018. He had a chance to extend the championship lead over Hamilton, but let it slip and the rest is history.

Vettel has shown glimpses of his previous brilliance, notably in Singapore this year, where he took the lead and showed all his experience with two incredible safety car restarts, as the Vettel of old would do.

Perhaps Vettel's situation can be compared to the one of former teammate Daniel Ricciardo's a couple of years ago, when Red Bull put their faith in their young driver, Max Verstappen.

Ricciardo saw Red Bull shift their focus to the young Dutchman, and after a disappointing 2018, he jumped ship to Renault.

This may not be so easy for Vettel. Ricciardo was 29 when he made the move to the French team, Vettel will be 33 by the end of the 2020 season.

This idea could easily be wrong, but will another top team want to take Vettel on at that age, considering the past few years he's had, and the huge amount of young talent flying around F1 right now?

It's tough to see Vettel attracting another team unless he picks his form up in 2020, but if he does improve for next year, then why wouldn't Ferrari keep him?

Perhaps Vettel's best chance of returning to glory is sticking it out at Ferrari and taking on Leclerc. We all know he's got the ability, you don't win four titles and 53 Grands Prix without it and if he can find form, like that of almost a decade ago, he could be a force to be reckoned with.

Another factor he could be considering is the rule changes in 2021. The cars will likely behave differently, and there may be much more competition at the front.

Will Vettel want to stick around for 2021, given the chance he could be blown away by the field?

2020 could well be the last chance for Vettel, otherwise Ferrari will follow Red Bull's lead and start to prioritise their young superstar.