Ex-Formula 1 driver Mark Webber is supporting Ferrari & Red Bull’s decision to implement key changes for 2019.
Both teams have been working hard to end Mercedes’ run of dominance during the V6-hybrid era but so far have proven unsuccessful with the Scuderia coming closest the past two years.
To try and take that final step to a first championship since 2008, Ferrari has promoted the exciting youngster Charles Leclerc to a race seat and made Mattia Binotto team boss.
“After the season they had in 2018, they had to change something,” Webber said to Austria’s Speed Week. “There was a lot of pressure, and this is the result.
Of the Monegasque’s arrival in place of Kimi Raikkonen, though the Australian agrees with many that he can be close to Sebastian Vettel, Webber still expects his former teammate to be ahead.
“This is a new opportunity for Seb,” he stated. “He [Leclerc] could give Seb a headache, especially in qualifying but I think Seb is ready for that.
“He will also first have to gain experience working in a large team. [It’s] a great opportunity for Leclerc, but a big risk for Ferrari.”
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Meanwhile, at Webber’s former team Red Bull, they also have a new driver in Pierre Gasly but more importantly, also ditched Renault for Honda engines.
“They had to change, they were ready,” the Channel 4 pundit claimed. “This will give them new energy.”
However: “The biggest challenge for Honda is to get a motor to perform well over its entire life span,” Webber admitted. “I think it’s possible that they will be able to overtake the rest in qualifying.
“But their engines must now also be able to perform at the highest possible level in the races and that takes time.”