Toto Wolff, Mercedes F1 boss, warned about rivalry within Ferrari F1 team.
Wolff pointed out to the two potential drivers, Leclerc and Vettel, being on the same team which might lead to “rivalry and an escalation”.
Singapore Grand Prix unexpected victory by Vettel has sparked a little unrest in the team. Vettel was parked a lap earlier than his team mate who was dominating the GP through pole position.
Ferrari usually parked the leading driver first to keep the position in the race. But Vettel was asked to came in first.
Leclerc was deprived of the opportunity to win three consecutive races, which made him unhappy. He also radioed his concerns during the race.
He bowed down in the best interests of the team. Vettel added that team comes first and one would be “very misled if you ever think that you are bigger than this team”.
Mercedes was affected by similar conditions between 2014 and 2016. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg went head to head during multiple race for their title fight hurting the team’s numbers.
Wolff expressed his opinion on the basis of what he had witnessed during the similar era.
Wolff said: “I think always two alphas competing for position has the potential for a rivalry, and an escalation within the team.
“We’ve been there and I think today as a team we’re very strong with a clear philosophy.
“On the positives, they [Leclerc and Vettel] keep taking points away from each other, which is an advantage, but I don’t want to look at points at that stage.
“It’s about optimising what we have, winning races and doing the best you can, and we didn’t do that [in Singapore].”
Vettel was favorite for the team but Leclerc managed to outscored his team till now. He was able to sit on pole for five time with two first vicotries for Ferrari. He currently leads Ferrari with six points ahead of Vettel.
Leclerc had not expressed his anger with respect to Vettel but rather he questioned the merits of the teams strategy.
“The level of how much we speak in the team is very good”, said Leclerc regarding communication level within team.
“There will always be situations that you don’t speak about, otherwise the meetings will be eight hours longer and I don’t want that, they’re already very long!”
Vettel added: “Obviously we try to speak about things in the race, what can happen and so on.
“As you might imagine, you try to get on with your job in the car but it’s an exceptional team and the team stands first.
“I think we aware of that.”
