Sauber: Interest in Ferrari 2019 contender Leclerc a good problem

Leclerc followed up his recent run of good results by making Q3 and qualifying eighth for the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, on the same weekend that talk of a move to Ferrari as replacement for Kimi Raikkonen has intensified.

Although Leclerc is clearly a key element in Sauber's current revival, Vasseur says he has no concerns about the rookie's potential departure.

"It's a problem for the rich at the end of the day," Vasseur told Autosport.

"It's much better to have this feeling that you could lose something than you would like to have something. It's a great feeling.

"We know we are improving, in the company, in every single area of the company, every single department. Everybody is pushing like hell, and Charles is part of the system, and one of the pillars.

"My job as team principal of Sauber is to stay focused on the current situation.

"I don't want to think too much about the future. We have a lot of work to do with the team, with the drivers, Charles and Marcus [Ericsson] also, and the most important thing is to stay focused and not start to think too much."

Vasseur also cautioned that Leclerc has to "stay calm" after his eye-catching qualifying performance as it will be the race result that is remembered.

"He did a perfect job, and also the way that he had to manage the lap, and build up the pace, through Q1 to Q3," said Vasseur.

"It was the first [Sauber] Q3 for a long time, since 2015.

"And also it's a great feeling because on Friday we had a very tough day, and Marcus didn't do FP2, and Charles was a bit nowhere also, and we struggled a lot.

"For the team it's also a special moment to have such a huge recovery.

"But he has to understand that the most important thing is to stay calm and do the job in the race, because everybody will remember the last moment.

"If he has a poor race everybody will remember the race, and not the qualifying. We are always judged on the last event."