Charles Leclerc’s promotion to Ferrari is a threat to Lewis Hamilton and his chances of a sixth Formula 1 title, according to David Coulthard.
Ahead of his first race for the Scuderia this weekend, much of the talk has been on how the young Monegasque will fare against his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel.
However, the ex-McLaren driver believes the broader dynamic of the new Ferrari line-up puts them in a better position to challenge Hamilton this season.
“As far as Lewis is concerned, the pairing of Sebastian and Charles has a much more dangerous look to it, in my opinion, than that of Sebastian and Kimi,” Coulthard told the Daily Mirror.
“I didn’t see Kimi winning too many races last season – and that was the way 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 this year.
“He is young enough, enthusiastic enough and fast enough to be pushing Sebastian onwards, and that will keep not just Seb on his toes, but Lewis as well.”
The issue Ferrari has had over the past two years is sustaining the development and the consistency to keep up with Hamilton and Mercedes throughout the year.
And now, with Mattia Binotto at the helm as team boss, that is something that the Italian team needs to address.
“If they are to really give Lewis something to think about, the team is going to have to push themselves that little bit more – and so are the drivers,” Coulthard added.
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- Leclerc has already proven to be the ‘right choice’ for Ferrari – Binotto
Former technical director and now F1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn does think there are already signs of an improvement though.
“With the calmness the team now have, they have every chance this year,” he said. “The team was in a little bit of disarray last year.
“It was not an easy environment. If you are going to beat Hamilton and Mercedes, you need to be on top of everything. I feel that this year will be stronger for them.”
Ferrari is also expected to start 2019 with the fastest car too, but Brawn did have a warning.
“Mercedes seemed a little out of sorts, but they will find their way [to catch up],” he noted.
