Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has seemingly revealed who is the side’s number one and two drivers between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. He did so by naming the racer with whom he would want to win the world championship.
When asked about the driver situation going forward, Vasseur replied (as quoted by formula1.com), “I think Charles also said that he wants to be world champion with Ferrari, and I want to be world champion with Charles and work with Carlos [Sainz]. We are very happy with the drivers. And they are doing a good job. So far, so good.”
Fans react as Fred Vasseur seemingly reveals Ferrari’s number-one driver
After hearing Fred Vasseur’s statement about Ferrari’s driver situation, F1 fans are convinced about who is the number one driver between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Several such as Edson, pointed out that it was now clear that the Monegasque is the number one driver between the two.
You know who the first driver is pic.twitter.com/ThqH4cfkgn
— Edson (@EdsonPurizaca) April 28, 2023
Meanwhile, some fans expressed surprise about how upfront Vasseur was in revealing who Ferrari favored between the two.
“be world champion with charles and work with carlos” OMG?? pic.twitter.com/wWPoTU0QAE
— michi 🏎💨 (@joonceps) April 28, 2023
And then some others, such as Haides009 joked that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is likely to have offered Leclerc a huge deal.
Since Vasseur made his remarks while answering rumors about Leclerc potentially having had talks with Mercedes, some fans believe that the French team principal made this statement to ensure that the 25-year-old stays with Ferrari.
After this statement, I’m sure Toto offered something very big to Charles 😂
— Haides009 (@haides009) April 28, 2023
Charles Leclerc answers if he has had talks with Mercedes
When asked about the speculation of him having talked with Mercedes about a potential move, Charles Leclerc replied that he is ‘completely focused’ on the project with Ferrari. He added that he was extremely confident that the Prancing Horse could deliver him a car that was capable of fighting for the world championship.
When pushed further if he had ever talked with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, Leclerc replied with a smile, “No. Zero, zero, really zero.” He hilariously added that he knew that the media did not believe him but that this was the truth.
As for Carlos Sainz, Fred Vasseur’s remarks could make him feel uncomfortable. While the Spaniard has underperformed as compared to Leclerc, he has also made it clear that he does not want to play second fiddle to anyone. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if Sainz moves to another team in the future or not.
