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Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has dismissed suggestions that the team should implement a 'No.1 and No.2' driver system.
The Italian team has been notorious in the past for having a system where one driver got the preference over the other. That was prevalent when Michael Schumacher drove for the team and had Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello as his teammates.
It also happened when Fernando Alonso drove for them and had Felipe Massa as his teammate. Vasseur, though, is not willing to implement such a system, as he feels the team has two strong drivers capable of getting strong results for the team. He told AS:
“Imagine that now Perez wins two races and Verstappen retires, fails a gearbox and gets a penalty for the next race. And after Monaco, Perez is 100 points ahead of Verstappen. These situations can happen anywhere; you have to remember Rosberg and Hamilton’s season. Nobody expected him to win that World Championship, and he won it."
He added:
“You have to push with both drivers, and then the championship situation leads you to make decisions. We have two strong drivers who can score points, podiums and win races. And we have to use that as a resource. We can push hard with both of them.
"Carlos is not lacking anything. We don’t have to start saying if he lacks there or thereabouts. He used an extra set of tyres in Q2 (at Jeddah), and he didn’t have a joker in Q3. But it’s there; we don’t have to say if the car doesn’t fit or if Carlos is missing something.”
Ferrari have bigger axe to grind than worry about 'No.1 and No.2 driver' dynamics
Having a lead driver and support cast is a debate Ferrari could worry about when they're in a position to fight for titles. Till then, it doesn't make sense to worry about a move that could have championship implications.
In Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the team have two solid drivers. More often than not, Leclerc has been the stronger of the two and could take over if the car is good enough. If the car is capable of fighting for the title, Ferrari could make a call and assign particular roles to either driver. Till things reach that point, both Sainz and Leclerc should be free to race against each other.
