Charles Leclerc assures no repeat of collision with Vettel
Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver has assured everyone that there will be no repeat on-track collisions with Sebastian Vettel in the future. This, after having cleared the air post the conclusion of 2019 F1 season would come as a big relief to the Ferrari team management as well as the fans.
His pairing with Vettel at Ferrari was considered the most evenly-matched combination on the F1 grid last season, resulting in multiple tense moments, with both of them fighting each other regularly for track supremacy. People who regularly indulge in online sports betting, especially on F1 races could never be certain when the next incident would occur, throwing the entire field into disarray.
Multiple contentious incidents last season
In fact, there were a good number of noteworthy contentious incidents between the two during the 2019 season, for instance, Sebastian Vettel’s ignorance of a pre-race agreement to let Leclerc pass at the Russian Grand Prix. This became a major issue and Ferrari had to change their pit strategy during that race, to ensure that Leclerc could go ahead of the German. Thereafter, the pair had an on-track collision during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Although it was a minor touch, both of them had to retire from the race because of a puncture damage.
Leclerc doesn’t see a Brazilian GP like incident happening again
Talking to Autosport during the Autosport International weekend which had Charles Leclerc as one of the stars, the Monegasque driver said that he doesn’t expect the same kind of friction between the two drivers in the 2020 F1 season. He further clarified that both of them are highly competitive on the track and it’s only expected that sometimes there might be some frictions. However, in the end, both of them are mature enough to leave the track incidents, back on the track. He stressed that off the track they have a completely different equation, and work together very well to develop the car in the best way possible. He agreed that the Brazilian incident was a lesson for both the drivers and he doesn’t see it happening again.
Ferrari F1 boss also of the same view
Mattia Binotto, the F1 team boss has also stressed all along that Vettel and Leclerc get along pretty well off track, and the latter confirmed that this is actually the case. He said that there have been times when they haven’t been able to understand each other, but had the maturity to not bring it up right away after the race. Hence, they gave it sometime and sat down in Japan, after the Russian incident, and grew from that experience.
Both drivers heading into 2020 F1 season with different set of challenges
Charles Leclerc is heading into the 2020 F1 season after securing his long-term future at Ferrari. He recently signed a five year deal with the team, just before Christmas. As per the contract, he’ll continue to drive for the Italian side till the end of 2024. Vettel on the other hand will be fighting to retain his place at Ferrari in 2020. His contract expires by the end of this year.
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