In 2019, Sebastian Vettel geared up for another season with Ferrari, his 4th in the Maranello outfit. Alongside him, a young 21-year-old Monagesque named Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari.
Leclerc was a Ferrari Prodigy who had arrived from Alfa Romeo Sauber in a swap move with Kimi Raikkonen headed the opposite way. But Leclerc had a major step-up in his F1 career and had to match a 4-time World Champion.
Luckily, it wasn’t a trial-by-fire says Leclerc, who has now accumulated 5 race wins and 4 seasons with Ferrari. Leclerc shared recently that it was a great pleasure to share the garage with a legend like Seb.
And with Vettel departing from the sport at the end of the 2022 season, Leclerc expressed his gratitude to the German. And the multitude of things the young Monegasque learned from Vettel will remain close to him.
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Sebastian Vettel is the Hardest working driver in F1 says, Leclerc
Charles Leclerc recollects his first interaction with Sebastian Vettel after he joined Ferrari from Alfa Romeo. And Leclerc was blown by the work ethic of Vettel claiming, “He is the hardest worker in the F1 paddock.”
Leclerc stated an instance when Sebastian was already present in the paddock before he’d arrived. Seb had a great rapport with the mechanics and engineers and used their technical know-how to understand the car better.
Leclerc recalled, “When I came from Alfa Sauber, I arrived casually in the morning. And he had already been sitting in the office for half an hour.”
He added, “The first time I asked myself, ‘why is he doing this? What does he need so much time for?'” Leclerc claims it had a deep impact on his work as he added, “Now I also arrive quite early and leave very late.”
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Charles Leclerc shares Vettel’s significance in his career
Charles Leclerc claimed he learn from Sebastian Vettel how to better understand your car. He claimed, “That has made a difference.”
Seb was already a 4-time World Champion. And Ferrari closely regarded Leclerc as their future icon. But Vettel did not let the pressure burden on the youngster.
He said, “I learned a lot of things from him. Especially at that point in my career, when I was still very young, it was good to have an experienced driver like Seb by my side.”
Leclerc adds, “With more experience and the more I spoke to him, I saw that there are small details that I didn’t pay attention to at first, but he did. That made all the difference.”
Leclerc might have lost the championship battle in 2022 to Max Verstappen. But the learning gathered from Vettel and the support from Ferrari will surely not let him stay still. The Monegasque will be back for the title fight in 2023 for another duel.
