Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were teammates at Ferrari in 2019 and 2020. The two had a very short time together on the team, but it’s a bond that they both cherish. Leclerc has often revealed how Vettel has always been very nice to him and taught him a lot during his debut Ferrari campaign.
Before Leclerc made the jump to F1, he was a part of the Ferrari Drivers’ Academy. The Monegasque spent a lot of time in the team’s factory and help them out with development by working on the simulator. When Leclerc was competing for the F2 Title in 2017, he was also in Maranello putting in hours on the simulator to help Vettel, who was driving in F1 for Ferrari.
The F2 season was also very grueling but he still gave his all for the Scuderia. In an interview, Leclerc revealed how he thought his work was unrecognized by the F1 drivers. However, one day, Vettel showed his gratitude to a young Leclerc in the form of a letter.
Receiving a letter from Sebastian Vettel meant a lot for Charles Leclerc
Today, Leclerc is one of the biggest stars in F1. In a lot of ways, his joining Ferrari was a way of the torch being passed over from Vettel to him back in 2019. In both of their seasons together as teammates, Leclerc finished ahead of the 4-time World Champion.
However, before their time together as teammates, receiving a letter from a legendary F1 driver meant a lot to Leclerc.
“He has achieved so much in the sport,” Leclerc said. “There is nothing much more to say on that side. But as a person, he has been incredible. I remember, already in F2, I was doing the simulator work, it’s not an easy job to do, it’s really tiring.”
“I thought Seb didn’t even know I was in the simulator. And I received a letter one day, just him thanking me for the hard work. That meant a lot for me at that time.”
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Vettel is the hardest working F1 driver according to Leclerc
Leclerc feels that Vettel is the hardest working driver in F1. He mentioned an instance where he arrived to the paddock on time, only to see Sebastian Vettel already there. He got to know that the German had been there for over half an hour!
“The first time I asked myself, ‘why is he doing this? What does he need so much time for?” he said.
Today, Leclerc admits that watching Vettel work hard motivates him. He too arrives at the paddock early, and leaves late.
