Leclerc would welcome Hamilton to Ferrari

Charles Leclerc says he would welcome the chance to learn from Lewis Hamilton as the chances of the world champion joining Ferrari continue to rise.

The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was played out to a backdrop of regular comments and speculation regarding Hamilton and the Scuderia, as he enters the final year of his Mercedes deal in 2020.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said in Abu Dhabi that he was happy to see Hamilton on the market, which was followed by Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff saying he would not block Hamilton's path if he were to seek a move to Maranello.

Gazzetta dello Sport also reported that Hamilton and Ferrari president John Elkann have twice met in 2019.

Hamilton picked his own words carefully after winning at the Yas Marina Circuit, cutting himself off before potentially starting to justify looking outside of Mercedes for his next race seat.

Leclerc was sat next to the world champion as he spoke and was immediately asked if he would be happy to see Hamilton opt for Maranello in 2021.

"Well of course," Leclerc said. "At the end, we are in Formula One and we want to fight against the best.

"I've had a big opportunity this year to have Seb [Vettel] next to me who is a four time World Champion and I've learned a lot from him and you can always learn from this type of champion so yeah, of course."

Leclerc's Ferrari deal is understood to run until 2022, but Vettel's contract expires a the same time as Hamilton's potentially opening the door to the Briton.