“We cannot Predict what will Happen” – Sauber

Without a doubt, Charles LeClerc has a glittering career lying ahead of him. Following an impressive first half of a season, there are already talks of him joining Ferrari in 2019. However, Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur isn’t convinced.

He admitted that he isn’t sure how the Monegasque driver will adapt as a Ferrari driver.

The 20-year old is highly rated and some think that he is ready for a step up to Ferrari in 2019.

However, Vasseur does not think so. The Alfa Romeo-Sauber team boss believes that Charles is better off in Sauber for now.

“Moving from Sauber to Ferrari is a big step,” the Frenchman said. “We cannot predict what will happen, especially when it comes to drivers getting some money.”

But, admittedly, it is quite surprising to learn that that 20-year old could earn as much as EUR 5 million in 2019. This is in spite of the fact that he has just spent a single season in F1

However, as a man of experience, Vasseur knew that there were plenty of drivers who had very good first seasons in F1.

“I will not give names, but as soon as they touched their first cheque, they had trouble,” he explained. “They lost their roots because they discovered new things in life and lost a little bit of what they were doing.

Vasseur was alluding to Sauber’s long history in Formula One where they groomed plenty of drivers. Their repertoire includes Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel among others. Many truly believe that team founder Peter Sauber had a good eye for talent.

Since they cannot anticipate anything, it explains why joining Ferrari is a big leap for LeClerc. Vasseur is aware that Ferrari have always been hesitant to field young drivers in race seats. But he confessed that he isn’t too worried about Charles.