Webber: Ferrari and Red Bull needed a change

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the all-electric Porsche Taycan, Webber said of the changes at the Scuderia, "After last year, Ferrari was in the situation after 2018 to have to change something. There was a lot of constant pressure on them."

"This is a new opportunity for Sebastian Vettel. [Leclerc] senses his chance, but first he has to gain experience in a big team. He could cause Seb a headache, especially in qualifying, but I think Seb is prepared for that."

"Kimi Raikkonen was very strong at times last year, but at the end of his career he has less potential than a hungry youngster. I like Leclerc very much - he's good for the sport, intelligent, fast, I would call him almost elegant. He is also a real fighter."

Leclerc is the youngest driver to don the red of Ferrari since Ricardo Rodriguez raced for the Italian outfit in the early sixties and marks a change of driver policy at the great team.

While Vettel needs to put behind him a season that promised so much but in the end was not enough to break the dominance of his nemesis Lewis Hamilton or overcome the might of Mercedes.

Since then Maurizio Arrivabene has been replaced by Mattia Binotto as team principal, marking a new era for Ferrari as they set out to win a title for the first time since 2008.

There are also wholesale changes happening at Webber's former Red Bull team, where Renault power makes way for Honda in what is arguably the biggest gamble for a team since McLaren reunited with the Japanese manufacturer in 2015, and everyone knows how that turned out...

Webber said of the 'revolution' at the team with whom he won nine Grands Prix, "First of all, the decision to switch from Renault to Honda was implausible, but Red Bull also needed a change."

"The team has derived new energy from the partnership, but the biggest challenge for Honda will be to get the best possible performance over the lifespan of the power unit."

"I don't doubt that Honda will catch up in qualifying but race reliability at the highest level must first be achieved and that will take time."

Finally, on the decision by fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo to ditch Red Bull for Renault, Webber said, "He has taken a gamble, but no question he wants to win with them.

"What I know is that Red Bull was very fair with him. Renault has a lot of excellent people and if they can catch up in terms of performance, Danny will be a contender. But only time will tell," added Webber.