The plane journey that convinced Ferrari on Leclerc
Ferrari appeared to break with its tradition of being cautious over young drivers by promoting Charles Leclerc for 2019, but it's been sure of what he's made of for quite some time already
From the moment Ferrari was hit with the reality that Sebastian Vettel was not going to win the Formula 1 title this year, it was inevitable attention would soon shift to what it needs to do differently to avoid another defeat in 2019.
After a campaign where driver errors played a pretty big part in defining the momentum of the season - think about how that 32-point swing in Germany would have changed things - the arrival of Charles Leclerc has got tongues wagging about how he will shake things up at Maranello.
Share Or Save This Story
Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
More from Jonathan Noble
Alpine F1 driver Gasly becomes co-owner in French football club
What the data tells us about Mercedes’ latest F1 problems
Did secret contract move open door for potential Verstappen Red Bull F1 exit?
Red Bull says RB20 F1 design was “last big roll of the dice”
Wolff doesn't want to fall into Horner "trap" over Red Bull F1 dominance
Norris says next generation F1 cars must address driver comfort issues
FIA evaluating Horner complaint as matter set for appeal
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
Latest news
Alpine F1 driver Gasly becomes co-owner in French football club
The key MotoGP change that has gone under the radar in 2024
What the data tells us about Mercedes’ latest F1 problems
Everything you need to know about the pitwall in F1 - who sits there and what does it do?
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.