Leclerc’s pace could cause Ferrari ‘problem’
Nico Rosberg has said Ferrari will have a “problem” on their hands if Charles Leclerc continues to out-perform Sebastian Vettel.
Leclerc has four points more than Vettel after the first two races of the season, with the former able to keep hold of a podium spot in Bahrain after his car was hindered by reliability problems.
The Monegasque driver is already having to negotiate with team orders at the Scuderia and World Champion turned pundit Rosberg thinks Leclerc could continue to create difficult situations for Ferrari.
“It’s interesting how they manage the team. Especially if Leclerc continues to show such speed and pace, it’s going to be amazing,” Rosberg said at a launch event promoting the upcoming Berlin E-Prix.
“If Leclerc really shows this kind of speed then he’s going to challenge Sebastian all the time and it’s going to be much more difficult.
“If it becomes a problem for one of their drivers it becomes a problem for Ferrari as well.”
🇨🇳🎙 @Charles_Leclerc is looking forward to getting in the #SF90 ahead of the #1000GP 😁#essereFerrari 🔴 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/yhyyEqNQV8
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 9, 2019
Vettel’s ability to drive wheel-to-wheel was placed under scrutiny once again when spinning out of a duel with Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain, but Rosberg has backed his fellow German to deliver an instant response.
“He’s a four-time world champion,” Rosberg added.
“The thing about sport is that it only takes one race to turn the corner – I’m really sure he’s going to able to turn the corner very quickly.
“It just takes him winning China and everything changes and he’ll be full of confidence again.
“Sebastian is a very self-confident person, so I don’t doubt his mindset. Of course it doesn’t help confidence when you have the race like he did in Bahrain.
“He needs to come back now and have a strong race and build his confidence up. I am sure he can do that.”
Like his former boss Toto Wolff, Rosberg also believes Ferrari are the ones to beat in China.
“They’ve got the fastest car, so everything is pointing in their direction at the moment,” he added.
“From one track to another everything can change. We have to wait and see but I would say that Ferrari are favourites for China.”
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