Talking to Die Welt newspaper before Portuguese GP race weekend, Ferrari man Charles Leclerc opened up about his relationship with outgoing teammate and Four-time Champion Sebastian Vettel. He said it took a while for his relationship with team-mate Sebastian Vettel to settle down because he felt intimidated.
A graduate of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Leclerc joined the Formula 1 grid in 2018 with plenty of success in lower level racing, he won Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in back-to-back seasons.
In his first season with Sauber(now Alfa Romeo) Leclerc finished P13 in the Championship with 39 points to his name, leading Ferrari to promote him to their second seat alongside Vettel for 2019. It was a surprise move from Ferrari who previously had always favored experienced drivers, but it paid off after Leclerc took two race wins in his first campaign with the team.
Leclerc about his on-track relationship with Vettel after joining Ferrari in 2019 :
“Maybe it was a bit slow at the start, but that was my fault, I was suddenly next to a four-time World Champion, which intimidated me a bit. He had already won so much and I hadn’t done anything. But over time it got much better. There were difficult moments of course but off the track everything was always fine between us.”
Leclerc on suggestion that his arrival triggered Vettel’s downturn in form at Ferrari:
“In my opinion, it actually spurred him on even more, even though we all already know that he is a great driver.”
Leclerc on what advice he would give his team-mate ahead of his move to Aston Martin :
“I would never allow myself to do that. He has done a lot more for this sport than I have and he deserves respect.”
