David Coulthard has likened the pairing of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc to having Lionel Messi and a junior Messi in the same team and believes the strengthened Ferrari line up will be a wake-up call to Lewis Hamilton who sets out to defend his title starting at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix weekend on 15 to 17 March.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror ahead of Melbourne, former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull driver David Coulthard believes the Reds will be a formidable force this season, “The pairing of Sebastian and Charles has a much more dangerous look to it than that of Sebastian and Kimi."
“I didn’t expect Kimi to win many races last season – and that’s how it turned out. But I would be mightily surprised if Charles isn’t spraying that champagne all over the podium on at least a couple of occasions."
“He is young enough, enthusiastic enough and fast enough to be pushing Sebastian onwards. And that will keep Lewis on his toes too. Ferrari have got Messi and Messi Jnr. You don’t start with the up-and-coming star ahead of your established one.”
Ferrari stood by tradition and 'won' the Formula 1 preseason with a very handy package in the new SF90, while Mercedes appeared to struggle but notably racked up astonishing mileage while keeping their powder dry, much like previous season.
Although it might be fair to claim that the W10 has had a laboured birth but that is not to say it will not follow its predecessors and turn into a mighty title-winning beast.
On that note, Coulthard cautioned, “The real test will be what happens in Melbourne.”
Leclerc steps up to the Scuderia as the second youngest driver in the team's history, at 21 he is ten years younger than Vettel, a four-time F1 World Champion.
Big Question: Will Seb contain Charles this season?
https://www.grandprix247.com/2019/03/03/binotto-vettel-and-leclerc-will-be-free-to-fight/
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