F1 News
Ferrari need to make a competitive car then Leclerc can become a factor
Charles Leclerc may have signed a new contract, keeping him at Ferrari until 2024 but Flavio Briatore has suggested it means nothing unless the Ferrari team can manage to build a car capable of a serious challenge.
Leclerc's bumper new deal will see him earn a reported $9 million per year, three times what he was already earning.
Leclerc was one of the standout drivers in 2019, finishing fourth in the Drivers' Championship in his first season with Ferrari. The first half of the Monegasque's season was plagued by controversy before he claimed two wins on the bounce at Spa and Monza.
Despite being tied down to Ferrari for the foreseeable future Briatore suggested Ferrari will need to make a competitive car regardless of the money they've invested in Leclerc.
"In F1 the important thing is the car," Told Radio Rai.
“Renault gave Ricciardo a boat of money, but that money it was better if they had invested them in the development of the machine. If there is no car, you do nothing.
"We had the example of Alonso when he was in Ferrari: the world championship was played because he brought the car to a certain type of level it was enough to see the second Ferrari driver where he was.
"Ferrari must work technically to have a car that is half a tenth from Mercedes. Then the pilot makes the difference. But it can do it on two tenths, not on five."