Ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa believes Sebastian Vettel will have to prove himself worthy of a new Ferrari contract in 2020.
The four-time world champion is under pressure heading into this season with his current deal expiring and questions over whether the German still has what it takes after Charles Leclerc walked in and beat him last year.
Indeed, Vettel scored just one somewhat fortuitous win compared to the Monegasque’s two in 2019 and made key errors, notably in Bahrain, Canada and Italy.
Some of that was car-dependent as Sebastian struggled more than Leclerc to adapt to the Ferrari, but with his teammate only expected to improve, Massa feels Vettel has his work cut out to match him.
“I think Ferrari will analyse him this year and see if they want to keep him for the coming year or not,” he told Motorsport-Total.
“We have to wait until the season starts to see how things will go in the future.”
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As for Leclerc, the Brazilian, who came so close to winning the title with Ferrari in 2008 and raced with the Scuderia until 2013, was simply full of praise.
“He has a long contract [until 2024] and has proven that he is the future of the team,” Massa simply stated.
