Ecclestone was first asked if Mattia Binotto was the right man to lead the team.  

‘’No, he's an engineer. They need someone in there who can make people understand that when you say something it happens. Not maybe. Or a discussion. 

'I would have got Flavio Briatore to run Ferrari. Flavio would do what he always did with Benetton and Renault: he'd steal the best people from other teams. The problem is that in the end Flavio would have let people think Ferrari belonged to him.’’ 

It’s no secret that the Brit gets on well with the German and that they’ve played backgammon together many times, and while he believes Ferrari favoured Leclerc over the course of 2019, he admits that Vettel made too many errors. 

‘’He did a s****y job and I told him so. He finished where he deserved [fifth in the championship; 24 points behind his teammate]. Ferrari favoured Leclerc, 100 per cent. They fall in love with a driver there and it is hard for the other guy. A lot of things went on against Sebastian.’’ 

The former F1 supremo also believes that the sport has already witnessed the best of Charles Leclerc and that Ferrari let Vettel down after the controversy in Canada. 

‘’I think we have seen the best of Leclerc. He has done well and will continue to do so but I don't think we'll see anything spectacular. The business in Canada upset Sebastian [when Vettel received a penalty for that infamous incident with Hamilton as they fought for the win]. He thought Ferrari should have backed him more and got stuck in. He's right.’’ 

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