Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto may reconsider prioritising Sebastian Vettel should Charles Leclerc continue delivering results.
Before the season, the Swiss, who replaced Maurizio Arrivabene in January stated that the German would be the main focus for the championship, something the team was accused of not doing last year.
After holding station in Australia though, Leclerc opted not to stay behind Vettel for two laps as instructed in Bahrain with his performance overall that weekend leading to questions over Ferrari’s approach.
“Certainly as a team, we need to give priority to the team and try to maximise the team’s points at the end of the race,” Binotto said in China on Friday.
“As I said at the start of the season if there is any 50-50 situation where we need to take a decision that advantage will be given to Sebastian simply because Sebastian has got the most experience in the team, in F1.
“He won four championships and certainly for us he is the driver who has got the most probability to challenge for the title.”
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After having a problematic weekend compared to Leclerc however, Binotto accepts the 21-year-old can at least force equal status if the performances become regular.
“It’s something we agreed with both drivers, in a few races’ time things may change for whatever reasons, bad luck or whatever could be the situation, we may change our position on that,” he noted.