Ferrari's Charles Leclerc: Schumacher was my hero but Senna was "the best"

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Leclerc: Schumacher was my hero but Senna was "the best"

The Ferrari driver rates two of F1's legends

Ian Parkes

Sunday 5 April 2020 11:46 Updated: 12:46

Charles Leclerc has hailed Michael Schumacher as his all-time Ferrari hero, but believes Ayrton Senna was "the best" in Formula 1.

As a young boy, Leclerc grew up watching Schumacher, who won five of his record seven F1 championships with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004.

"The Ferrari driving hero for me, and I think for many, was Michael," said Leclerc, who enjoyed a superb debut season with the Scuderia in 2019, winning races in Belgium and Italy en route to finishing fourth in the drivers' standings ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

"I was young when he was winning, but it was always very impressive. Any time I was always watching Formula 1, and especially Ferrari, it was obviously Michael that I was looking at."

It is legendary three-time champion Senna, however, who holds a special place in Leclerc's affections.

Asked as to what he would aks Senna if he were still alive today, Leclerc replied: "Difficult. What I would ask maybe is what the closest track is, because it would be a dream for me to race with him and learn from him.

"He was a person I look up to a lot, who had a lot of talent but also worked very hard. Putting these two things together made him the best."

Leclerc knows where he has to improve himself if he is to join such greats as Schumacher and Senna.

Despite his strong performances on many occasions last season, Leclerc recognises within that if there is one area he needs to improve then it is to stop being impatient.

"Patience is something that is very important, and that I have struggled to have in the past, but I've learned with Ferrari I need to have it," conceded Leclerc.

"You can't have everything right away, and sometimes you need a little bit of patience to learn from the best, as from Seb and from the team, and things take time to settle, so you need to wait a little bit at times, and I was a bit too impatient before."