Former Ferrari pilot: Enzo would never have signed a contract if he was alive

Former Ferrari driver Arturo Merzario has spoken harshly about Charles Leclerc and his role in the Italian team.

The Italian, famous for saving Niki Laudi from a burning car after an accident at the Nürburgring in 1976, said:

“Leclerc got a seat at Ferrari that he didn’t deserve at the time. He’s a very good racer like any other. If you put more than one name in a hat and take one out, they’re all pretty much the same. He’s not special.”

This season the Monegasque edged out seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix to take all seven of Ferrari’s podiums and claim the team’s only pole position. But for Merzario this does not matter:

“There’s no point in boasting about being ahead of a seven-time world champion like Hamilton, because Lewis took his foot off the gas because he felt he wasn’t integrated into the team. Why would he give 110% under those circumstances?”

Merzario concluded his words with an even stronger statement:

“If Enzo Ferrari were alive, he wouldn’t even walk through the doors of Maranello, I’m sure. He wouldn’t even be accepted as a customer.”