Maranello (Italy) (AFP)
"It would be premature to decide anything today" regarding the identity of Ferrari drivers in F1 in 2021, says CEO Louis Camilleri, questioned about rumors of discussions with the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
"It is well known that Lewis had conversations with (John Elkann, president of Fiat-Chrysler, which owns Ferrari, ed)," Camilleri told reporters at HQ Maranello (Italy) on Wednesday.
But "it was a little exaggerated, when it was during a mundane event, they have mutual friends," the leader downplayed.
He also said that neither he nor the "main team" Mattia Binotto have met the six-time world champion, while they are the decision-makers.
Camilleri recalls that Scuderia has a "long-term agreement" with Monegasque Charles Leclerc (the 2022 season was mentioned by the former team leader Maurizio Arrivabene) and that the contract of the German Sebastian Vettel expires at the end of 2020 .
This is also the case of Hamilton with Mercedes, as well as many other pilots, to coincide with the planned change of regulations in 2021.
Regarding Vettel, who arrived at Ferrari in 2015, "we need to see both the performance, the way it adapts to the car (from 2020) and its motivation for the future," says Binotto.
"It's not about whether he'll make mistakes or not," he adds, "it's really about how he sees his future and how we see our team."
2021 will be in any case "too early" to see one of the young drivers of the Ferrari industry, the Ferrari Driver Academy, integrate the Scuderia, says the Italian.
"It will be important to have drivers with some experience (F1) because the cars will be completely new," he says.
Among these young people is the son of the seven-time German world champion Michael Schumacher, Mick (20), who in 2019 played his first season in Formula 2, the lower category, finished in 12th place in the championship.
"We are expecting a lot from him next year because he will have a season behind him and we are pretty sure he is a good candidate for F1 in the future," said Binotto. "Will he be a good candidate for Ferrari? It's really too early to tell. "
© 2019 AFP