Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn believes Charles Leclerc can "unsettle" Sebastian Vettel but won't beat him at Ferrari.
Predictions continue to be made as to how the Monegasque will fare having stepped up to the Scuderia but in testing, he showed promise finishing just 0.01s behind his new teammate.
There are those who think Leclerc could capitalise if Vettel continues to the errors he made in the second half to 2018, but the former Ferrari technical director disagrees.
"I'd be surprised, if I'm honest, Sebastian is very good," said Brawn. "If it unsettles him a little bit, I think that's the thing that the team will have to manage, not necessarily Charles beating him, but the fact that he could unsettle him."
What the F1 chief does think, however, is Leclerc rivals Max Verstappen as the next generation of drivers continue to step up.
"I think he's the number one in that respect," he said, perhaps not including the Dutchman in his thinking.
"He's had a very good first year, and he's now in a top team. Talking to some of the people I know at Ferrari, they've been very impressed with his approach and attitude. I think he's pretty special."
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Finally, Brawn also commented on Ferrari's own ability for success having built strong platforms the past two seasons only to falter as the year progressed.
"The team was in a little bit of disarray last year, with Sergio [Marchionne] passing away and then clearly there was some friction in the team between Maurizio [Arrivabene] and Mattia [Binotto], it wasn't smooth. So it wasn't an easy environment last year," he claimed.
"Although they had a good car and they were strong at times if you're going to beat Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, you need to be on top of everything, but I have a feeling that this year will be stronger for them."
