Leclerc to Ferrari Mid-Season are Just Rumours: Vasseur

It was earlier reported by Autosport that Ferrari had decided on Charles Leclerc to be their second driver from next season onwards. But after a brilliant French Grand Prix for the youngster, it was rumoured that he could move as early as the Belgian Grand Prix.

But Sauber principal, Frederic Vasseur has dismissed the reports stating that they are exactly what they seem, rumours. “I can understand we have some rumours in the press, nothing to do with the reality”, said the Frenchman.

“We have a contract until the end of the season and we haven’t spoken so far about the future. We are focused on our job. Charles is focused on the Sauber project. And then the future we will discuss.”

“I think it’s better to finish the season, to have a normal approach and not to speed the process. It is not so easy”, added Vasseur.

Charles Leclerc has been mighty impressive so far, with his highest point coming at his second home race last weekend, when he dragged his Sauber to Q3, indeed an incredible achievement.

It was the team’s first Q3 since 2015 and the highest starting position for the Monegasque driver. He has been involved in some tasty duels on track too, most notably with veteran driver, Fernando Alonso.

The man Leclerc is tipped to replace at Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen himself is unsure of his future. He was linked with a fairytale McLaren return, which he dismissed and had also been offered a test drive for rally racing.

Ferrari have usually trusted established drivers, often getting them from other teams to replace an outgoing driver but have seemingly backed their own academy graduate this time around.

Their 2019 line-up is still unconfirmed however. Raikkonen may still continue or Leclerc might replace him but that is something to talk about when the season ends. Some outlets had wrongly reported that it was a done deal, which is not the case.