While Felipe Massa is a fan of Charles Leclerc, he feels the Monegasque has an easier time against Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari.
Last year, Leclerc validated former chairman Sergio Marchionne’s decision to choose him over Kimi Raikkonen by claiming seven poles and two wins, beating the four-time world champion by 24 points in the championship.
But when Massa compared the challenge Leclerc faced in 2019 versus his time up against Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, the Brazilian said…
“I think it was harder for me with Alonso than him with Vettel,” Massa told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Fernando was very good at putting you under pressure. He didn’t leave you alone, in fact, only Hamilton was able to keep him behind.”
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Still: “Leclerc is a natural,” he added. “He learns new tracks very fast and he has great instinct but it’s not only that, he is smart and thinks about the car and thinks what to do before doing things. That helps him to make fewer mistakes.
“Last year he improved during the season compared to Verstappen who has spent years making mistakes. Leclerc improved much faster.”
The current Venturi Formula E driver admits he wasn’t surprised by Leclerc’s impact in 2019 and is also sure that, given the right car, the 22-year-old would be able to go all the way.
“I always thought that Leclerc could put Vettel under pressure like Ricciardo did at Red Bull,” Massa explained.
“The first time I met him we were in Monte Carlo with a sponsor. It was me, Jules Bianchi and Charles, he was a nice kid.
“I followed his career, I saw him in GP3 and immediately thought he would reach the top. I consider him a great talent. He proved to be fast in every category, he won everywhere and when he reached F1 he immediately proved to be good with Sauber and he continued with Ferrari.
“If he has a car good enough to compete with Mercedes he will win the title.”