23/04/2020
NEWS STORY
Last week it was Sebastian Vettel who talked to the media via teleconference, as the lack of racing means the usual fortnightly abundance of quotes have all but dried up. Yesterday, teammate Charles Leclerc drew the short straw.
The youngster, who is currently making a name for himself in eSports, talked about a number of issues, not least the likelihood of a new teammate in 2021.
While Vettel says that money is not the reason he goes racing, it remains to be seen how he will react if Ferrari - as expected - ask him to take a pay cut.
Waiting in the wings, should the German not agree terms, are the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz, who have both been lined with the Maranello outfit.
Leclerc, who enjoyed a somewhat fractious on-track relationship with the German last year, culminating in the clash in Brazil, says he would be happy to see Vettel remain at Maranello.
"I am very happy with Seb," said the youngster. "It was good even though we've had some few problems on the track, like in Brazil," he continued. "I think it has always been a good relationship even though from the outside it was probably not seen as it was but it's always been good between us."
However, with the prospect of Vettel moving on, having failed to emulate his hero Michael Schumacher in winning the title with Ferrari, Leclerc said: "I will respect Ferrari's decision for whoever is next to me. At the end it's my job to adapt to the person next to me and you can always learn from whoever is your team mate.
"I will welcome anybody. But if Seb stays I will definitely be happy," he added.
Indeed, though the German is one of several drivers yet to make his eSports debut, Leclerc welcomed the news that the German has bought his own simulator.
"I'm not racing against Seb yet," he said, "but I will definitely send him a text very soon whenever he has finished his installation to try and race with him a little bit, which will be fun."
Asked about his own exploits in the sim world, which appear to be drawing a whole new audience to the sport, he said: "My main priority is to try and entertain the people at home. And obviously keep myself also entertained and try to train on the simulator.
"It's a tough time for people being at home that don't have much to do," he added. "I've had a lot of positive reaction to what I was doing on Twitch with all the other F1 drivers, people saying it will help them going through these tough times. I was very happy to see that."