Vettel hasn’t met a talent like Leclerc in ‘last 15 years’
Date published:
December 21 2020
Sebastian Vettel believes his former Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc is the most talented driver he has met over the last 15 years.
Leclerc, a graduate of the Ferrari Driver Academy, first burst onto the scene in 2019, earning a promotion to the Ferrari seat after a single season in Formula 1 with Sauber.
From the off Leclerc proved that he had the raw pace, though in the early stages of his Ferrari career several high-profile mistakes at one point sparked rumours that his career with the Maranello outfit was on the line.
Why Perez was the right choice for Red Bull
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Allison: Mercedes won t go quietly amid rule changes (2:58)
Mercedes technical director James Allison says the team are ready for the new challenge of the regulations changes. (2:58)
In a slower car, Perez finished the year 20 points clear of Albon, won a race against the odds in Bahrain and scored points at every grand prix he entered, apart from the two in which his Mercedes engine failed.
That sort of consistency is exactly what Albon was lacking all year and could be the difference between the team taking the fight to Mercedes in the constructors title next year and not.
Formula 1
Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
Yas Marina – Callum Ilott has joined Scuderia Ferrari as their official test driver for the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship.
Formula 1 Championship runner-up Callum Ilott has been signed as Ferrari’s test driver for 2021. The British driver narrowly missed out on clinching the title after a tense battle with fellow Ferrari Academy Driver Mick Schumacher.
While Schumacher has secured his immediate future as he steps up to Formula 1 with Haas next year, there was no available seat suitable for Ilott. The UNI-Virtuosi driver had been a possibility for an Alfa or a Haas seat as well, but Haas turned to Formula 2 rival Nikita Mazepin as he brings significant funding with him from his father’s Uralkali company. At Alfa Romeo, they stayed with their current drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi for another season.
Fernando Alonso posted the fastest time of all the runners at the post-season F1 test in Abu Dhabi, and said the day had ignited his competitive spirit .
The two-time champion was back in the 2020 Renault for the second time, after he first sampled the car on a filming day at Barcelona back in October. He has also been running the team s 2018 challenger, as he bids to get back up to speed ahead of his return to Grand Prix racing next year.
He completed 105 laps of the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, posting a best time of 1m36.333s - the fastest of all 15 runners on the day.
Formula 2 runner-up and Ferrari Driver Academy racer Callum Ilott will be Ferrari s test driver in 2021, the team announced on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old, who finished eighth quickest for Alfa Romeo in the end-of-season test at Yas Marina this week, missed out on the Formula 2 championship with 2021 Haas driver Mick Schumacher taking the crown. He finished 2020 with three F2 victories and five podiums to his name as he took the title fight down to the final race in Bahrain. I am very pleased to be joining Scuderia Ferrari as its test driver from next year, he said after the test. I look forward to contributing to the work the team does on and off track, and to all of the new things I can learn by taking on this exciting new challenge. I will give my all to do a good job and gain as much experience as possible to continue making progress as a driver.