Leclerc: I'm very lucky to have Vettel as a team-mate
Leclerc: I'm very lucky to have Vettel as a team-mate
Charles Leclerc says he is “very lucky” to have Sebastian Vettel as his team-mate at Ferrari, and has disputed the suggestion he could be viewed as Ferrari’s ‘number one’ driver next season.
After impressing at Sauber (now Alfa Romeo) last season, the Monegasque driver was promoted to Ferrari at the expense of former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who went in the other direction.
It took him, and indeed Ferrari, a little while to find their feet in 2019 but after the summer break he won two races in a row in Spa and Monza, with Vettel winning in Singapore.
Even though he is currently ahead of the German in the drivers’ championship, Leclerc reckons he can’t be viewed as the Scuderia’s main man as Vettel has four titles to his zero, and that he is fortunate to have the veteran there providing advice.
“I’ve got no idea, but Sebastian has won four World Championships, I haven’t won any,” he told Channel 4 when asked about who Ferrari will see as their number one.
“I believe he has a lot of experience. He’s very quick, very strong, I’m learning a lot from him and then at the end [of the season] we will see, it’s not me making the decision who is number one or number two.
“At the moment I am happy like this and very lucky to have Seb next to me.”
Leclerc believes the main thing he has learned from Vettel is how to deal with, and provide feedback to, the engineers.
“It’s a bit new to me to look at next year’s car because until now I have been changing teams every year,” said.
“But at the moment I’m learning from that and I think it really helps to have Seb next to me who is used to these type of things, to see how he works on the development of the car, what is the key things to say to the engineer.
“There are so many things that you can say to an engineer, but if you say all of those things, you can confuse them a little bit, so you need to choose what you want to say, and at this Seb is helping quite a lot.”
The relationship between the drivers hasn't always been harmonious, however, as there have been several disputes within the team with regards to team orders. At the Russian Grand Prix, Most recently, Vettel overtook Leclerc off the opening line only for Ferrari to switch their drivers round after a pitstop, causing some controversy.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey Red Bull exit details confirmed as Ferrari make dramatic unveiling - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Award-winning director reveals STUNNING tribute to F1 legend Senna
- Yesterday 22:57
Ferrari fans BEG for Newey after team reveal shock change
- Yesterday 21:57
Newey manager hints at Red Bull legend's SHOCK next move after exit
- Yesterday 20:57
Ecclestone ATTACKS Hamilton 'ego' after Ferrari move
- Yesterday 19:57
- 1
Newey and Hamilton could enjoy stunning title REPEAT after F1 guru's Red Bull exit
- Yesterday 18:58
Related news
Leclerc pictured with new love as post hits 3 MILLION likes
Big name driver 'very angry internally' after controversial battle
Ferrari F1 star concedes key advantage in crucial team-mate battle
Leclerc hints at early F1 RETIREMENT
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860