“I think he’ll take a year off” – Mark Webber on former teammate Sebastian Vettel’s sabbatical

“I think he’ll take a year off”- Mark Webber thinks that Charles Leclerc’s naivety helped him to topple Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari’s priority list.

Mark Webber believes Charles Leclerc’s “naivety” helped him beat teammate Sebastian Vettel last season. And expects Vettel to take a year off and come back strong in 2022.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Webber said: “Seb under the Ferrari regime did what they could, but I think he’s literally just run out of puff there.”

“Obviously, Charles comes in, clearly massively quick, full of energy, appetite, naivety – naivety’s a great thing. You just come in and just go for it, because you don’t know anything else, whereas Sebastian’s been toiling, getting things going.”

The Monaco-born Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 as a replacement to the departing Kimi Raikkonen. He won two Grand Prix – Italian and Belgian – compared to Vettel’s one, and finished higher in the overall points tally. And Webber admits he is ideal for a sport like F1.

“I mean, Leclerc is absolutely world-class, great for Formula 1, good looking rooster, speaks various languages. He’s great for the camera. He’s brilliant,” he added.

Switching to his former teammate Sebastian, he had this to say – “I think he’ll have a year off. I hope for all of us he can rejuvenate himself and get back into the spirit of wanting to be competing at the front again in Formula 1.

“I think he can reinvent himself, but he’s got to have the atmosphere. He really, really, really misses the English way about going racing [as he had at Red Bull].  He really enjoyed that.”

“Seb has had some challenging times at Ferrari, no question about it, but I still think Ferrari will miss him. They will miss someone of his experience and vision,” he concluded.

Vettel will be replaced by Carlos Sainz, making him and Leclerc the youngest Ferrari duo in over 50 years. Mark Webber partnered Vettel for 5 years at Red Bull Racing, the intra-team rivalry was well documented.

Also read: Ferrari second team to test its 2020 car ahead of F1 season starter at Austria

The sometimes frosty relationship did not deter Red Bull Racing from dominating the first half of the last decade. They won 4 Constructors Championships in a row from 2010 to 2013. Sebastian Vettel won his 4 World titles in the same period, highlighting the immaculate association he had with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

About the author

Subham Jindal

A Red - be it Manchester United or Ferrari. Hails from the hills of Kalimpong, Darjeeling. Aspiring to become a respected Sports Management professional.

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