Ex-Ferrari team principal shares why some team members opposed Charles Leclerc signing

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Charles Leclerc’s signing wasn’t met with unanimous approval at Ferrari, according to the man who brought him to the team.

Leclerc had been part of the Scuderia’s academy since 2016 and impressed during his rookie season at Alfa Romeo/Sauber, scoring points on 10 occasions.

Ferrari decided to part with Kimi Raikkonen to make room for Leclerc. Raikkonen remains their last drivers’ champion (2007), but was consistently outperformed by teammate Sebastian Vettel.

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Some Ferrari staff feared Charles Leclerc was ‘too young’

In an interview with Leo Turrini, Maurizio Arrivabene revealed that Ferrari didn’t have the ‘structure’ to take on Kimi Antonelli when he visited their factory in 2018.

Another issue was that there was an ongoing dispute over whether to promote Leclerc. Some within the team felt he was still ‘too young’.

When Ferrari announced the signing of Leclerc in September, they were still hopeful that Sebastian Vettel would dethrone Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. The concern was that taking on a second-year driver would weaken the team.

Arrivabene explained: “Furthermore, at that time, in 2018, we were busy getting Leclerc into the car and it was tough there too. Not everyone agreed, some thought Charles was too young for the Reds.

“And besides, until after Monza we were fighting for the world championship with Vettel.”

Ferrari hadn’t signed a driver with so little experience since Gilles Villeneuve, who had only started one race when he joined in 1977.

Fortunately, Leclerc proved he was ready by winning at Spa and, more significantly, Monza during his first season. Seven years later, he has signed a new deal that will see him surpass Michael Schumacher as their longest-serving driver.

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Leclerc’s tally of eight wins is disappointing relative to his volume of appearances, but it largely reflects the level of his cars. Indeed, his teammates have only won five races in the same period.

There’s a school of thought that Ferrari signed Leclerc as a benchmark for Vettel, and he proved to be a much tougher opponent than an ageing Raikkonen.

When Leclerc outscored Vettel by 24 points in his first year, it effectively marked the end of the four-time champion’s career at Maranello. Before the delayed 2020 season started, they announced that Carlos Sainz would replace him in 2021.