Marcus Ericsson may no longer be a Formula 1 driver but new Ferrari signing Charles Leclerc should thank his former team-mate for helping him in 2018, says Frederic Vasseur.

Last season, in what would turn out to be Ericsson’s last in Formula 1, the Sweded partnered rookie driver Leclerc at Sauber.

It was the latter who bagged all the plaudits as he scored 39 of Sauber’s 48 points with a best result of P6 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

But while Ericsson failed to match his team-mate in the points tally, team boss Vasseur reckons Leclerc may not have achieved what he did were it not for Ericsson pushing him hard.