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Leclerc denies he is Ferrari's number one driver

Published on 19 Sep 2019 16:12
6
By: Dieter Rencken & Fergal Walsh

Charles Leclerc says he is not Ferrari's number one driver after winning the last two Formula 1 races at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

Last time out at Ferrari's home race in Italy, Leclerc fended off Lewis Hamilton for the win, while teammate Sebastian Vettel spun early on, destroying any chance of a strong result.

In qualifying, Vettel has failed to beat Leclerc since he took his one and so far only pole position of the season in Canada.

MORE: Vettel: F1 must keep historic races like Germany | Leclerc calls on Ferrari to stay realistic during Singapore Grand Prix

Despite the form he has had in the previous races, Leclerc doesn't believe that he is now Ferarri's lead driver, insisting that things are balanced within the team.

"I've never felt that way," Leclerc affirmed. "From the outside, I don't know if it looks different, but from the inside, it is very balanced.

"There have been situations in the past where I have helped Sebastian, some other where Seb helped me and that's the way forward for the team. The team is doing everything for its benefit and that's the most important [thing].

"We are here to perform at our best which is what we are here to do. But I'm very happy with how the team is at the moment."

Leclerc also denied that he has to have a strong ego in order to succeed, as he believes that playing the team game will benefit him in the long-term.

"To be a team player, it always pays off at the end of the day," he said. "The team is doing everything for us. If you have one driver that is an egoist and just looks at himself, it's not great.

"There are situations where maybe you have to look more at yourself, but you just need to find the right balance."

F1 News Charles Leclerc Ferrari

Replies (6)

ashavin301

Posts: 21
Why don't you ask Bottas pointedly if he is a wing man??
As far as charles is concerned I'v lost some respect for him because of what he did in Monza. He double crossed vettle in-order to get pole. In a team sport trust is important, and if there is none then its all for themselves. What goes around comes around. Vettle, regardless of what ppl may think is still a 4 time WD champion and until double crosser charles comes close he can piss off....
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- Sep 19 2019 - 16:23
- Dert38
  
  Posts: 377
  expected russia blame what did you expect him to do???
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  Sep 19 2019 - 19:55
- Dert38
  
  Posts: 377
  and Charles must be their n1 now if they still hope for title he is faster
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  Sep 19 2019 - 19:57
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Agreed, it is still too early. Ferrari is a very conservative team. It'll take more than this for them to change around. Though a change has started, methinks.
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- Sep 19 2019 - 20:12
- Ram Samartha
  
  Posts: 1,172
  A shift may have started. Charles has learned a lot about being a team player and also that just because you have to be more aggressive it win in F1 doesn't mean you need to have a huge ego. He's learnt well that if he's going to beat Vettel and VER and even Hamilton, he's got to beat them at the game they play, which he has done the past two weekends. Unfortunately if he had learned it sooner in the season he would probably have couple of more wins under his belt.
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  Sep 19 2019 - 22:01
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Nah, I don't really think he would've. The two chances he had weren't lost due to him playing the game wrong, it was down to engine woes in Bahrain and due to unpredictable conditions in Hockenheim. I legit don't think Ferrari had more legit chances than these to win so far this season.
  + 0
  
  Sep 20 2019 - 05:28