MARCH 10, 2020

Leclerc happy if Ferrari keeps Vettel

Charles Leclerc has admitted he is "not sure" if Sebastian Vettel will still be his Ferrari teammate in 2021.

Sebastian Vettel, Singapore GP 2019
© RV Press

Charles Leclerc has admitted he is "not sure" if Sebastian Vettel will still be his Ferrari teammate in 2021.

Quadruple world champion Vettel has lost his clear number 1 status and his contract expires at the end of the season, but reports indicate that the German and Ferrari are inching towards a new deal.

However, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton remains on the market for now.

"I hope he (Hamilton) does go to Ferrari because that would be a great story," former F1 driver Martin Brundle told London's Evening Standard.

However, he thinks the six-time world champion will probably stay put.

"They (Mercedes) are probably the best team, paying him a shed-load of money and he can be a Mercedes ambassador for the rest of his days. You've got to think long and hard before you walk away from all of that really just to change the colour of your team," said Brundle.

"If I had my driver manager's cap on, I'd be telling him 'You're not going anywhere, son, you're staying here'. But as a fan, I'm feeling like 'get to Ferrari, give us something to really look forward to'."

22-year-old Leclerc, who has been signed up by Ferrari through 2024, told the Dutch site racingnews365.nl that he is not sure what is going to happen.

"I have a great working relationship with Sebastian," he said.

"He helped me a lot last season and I have respect for him. I'm not sure if he will remain in the team in 2021 but I will accept any decision they take.

"I will be happy if he stays," Leclerc added.

(GMM)