Ex-Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who raced for the Maranello team between 2015 and 2020, admitted that he could see a lot of his former self in Charles Leclerc during the time the two were team-mates at Ferrari. The German driver also pointed out that Charles Leclerc had “something special.”
The German and Monegasque driver worked together in Maranello for two years, during the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 championships. Sebastian Vettel came after two seasons after fighting for the titles, a target which Ferrari and Seb failed to achieve in 2017 and 2018, as the following year Charles Leclerc was promoted to the Italian side, replacing 2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
The Monegasque driver impressed from the very start and gradually Sebastian Vettel’s relationship with the Maranello team deteriorated up to the point in which the senior management decided not to offer him a contract extension beyond the 2020 campaign. Still, the relationship between Seb and Charles never appeared to have a similar outcome.
In their first year together for Scuderia Ferrari, the two drivers led to Maranello team to a second place finish in the 2019 Constructors’ Championship, an achievement which was only matched last season. With Charles Leclerc on top of his game from his maiden season with Ferrari, there was a difficult decision to make for the team bosses regarding who to support as the number one driver.
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The 2020 Formula 1 championship was a very difficult season for Ferrari due to a car not up to the level of its predecessor, as negative mood around the team only seemed to increase with Charles and Seb battling in the midfield zone. However, the two continued to be good friends and indeed it looked like the German even became the ideal role model for the Monegasque to gain experience from and further improve given his young age.
In one of his last interviews as a Formula 1 driver, before retiring from the sport at the end of last year, Sebastian Vettel admitted that he saw a lot of himself in Charles Leclerc during their time working together for Ferrari, despite the fact that both of their competitive natures started to collide at times:
“Charles came in at just a very different time in his career and his life,” Sebastian Vettel explained in an interview for the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“It was funny, because I watched him and we got along really well. I think I really enjoyed the time we spent together. But it was a little bit as if I was looking at my younger self and it did take a little bit of time to understand that. Because obviously, my target was not to just win a race, I’ve done that. My target was to win the Championship and ideally win the Championship the way I wanted to win the Championship, which is winning many, many races. So maybe I lost myself a little bit in that process.” – he added.
Sebastian Vettel joined Aston Martin for the last two years of his Formula 1 career, which made life easier for both him and his former Ferrari teammate, as they were no longer involved in duels to earn the status of number one driver within the same team. Since that moment, the four-time Formula 1 world champion has continued to express his appreciation for his ex-team-mate and even highlighted he has “something special.”
“I think Charles has been something special,” Sebastian Vettel replied when being quizzed about the fastest driver he has raced in his Formula 1 career. “Just the amount of talent and how he manages in just one lap, particularly in qualifying, to squeeze pace out of himself, the car was nice to see.” – the German concluded.
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