Ferrari-bound Charles Leclerc believes the Italian outfit should 'drop' him if they feel he doesn't perform to the standard expected of him in 2019.
The Monegasque driver was announced as a Ferrari driver after the Italian Grand Prix in September, replacing Ferrari's last drivers' champion – Kimi Raikkonen.
At a tender age of 21-years old, Leclerc will become Ferrari's youngest since Mexico's Ricardo Rodriguez who raced for them at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, aged just 19-years old.
He will also be the least experienced Ferrari debutant since Gilles Villeneuve, he joined the Scuderia with just one-race for McLaren under his belt at the 1977 British Grand Prix.
Leclerc claims he doesn't feel nervous and is able to handle the pressure of racing for the prestigious Ferrari brand in 2019. He was pragmatic in his belief that if he isn't good enough, he ought to be ousted from the team.
Speaking on the 'Beyond The Grid' F1 podcast, he said: “I’m not a nervous person, there are tensions in this sport and at the start, there is adrenaline, but I would not say it is nervousness.
“If you ask me about the pressure, I think I can handle this because I have a mentality that I don’t feel the pressure at all. I know lots of people say, ‘yeah but the pressure in Ferrari is on another level’, but my mentality allows me to take off all the pressure.
“I don’t really take into consideration what people are expecting from me. The only thing I do is focus on myself and try to give the best possible performance on track.
“I’m also very honest, if I’m not good enough next year, I should be dropped by Ferrari and this would be completely understandable for me. This is how I see it.
“If I’m good enough, I deserve to stay there. If I’m not, I deserve to be left off and I think that takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.”
Taking on Vettel
Ferrari has often been known for favouring one particular driver within their long history, however, the young Monegasque driver believes there is nothing in his contract or his own abilities which will stop him taking on his four-time champion future team-mate.
The 21-year-old added: “I know lots of people are thinking this and me saying that won’t change what people think. But as in every team, you start the year on an equal status and then at one point, once one driver is fighting for the championship and one is not.
“Then I believe it’s normal for the second driver to help the first one, which I’m ready to do in case I am the second driver and I don’t have my chances to win the championship.
"But apart from that, I don’t think I will go there to be a second driver.”
