Sebastian Vettel reckons it is too early to compare Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc with his past teammates as he also credits Lewis Hamilton for prospective sixth title.
Due to his young stardom and his incredible pace, it would be easy to say that Leclerc has been Vettel’s most competitive teammate in F1. However, the four-time champion would advise against making such comparisons as the experience factor is quite different.
Vettel certainly rates Leclerc well but doesn’t want to compare or rate him as the hardest straightaway as it is a difficult judgement since it is not the same situation. “Certainly he’s young, he’s very quick, I don’t think there’s anybody who doubts that,” said Vettel.
“Ultimately you can’t really compare because you’d need to put Mark and Kimi and Daniel and Vitantonio and Bourdais in the same car at the same time. So it’s not fair. Certainly in terms of raw speed he’s very quick but obviously it’s a bit early for him.
“It’s only his second season in F1. It’s very different to say Kimi or Mark, who had spent a lot of time in F1 and had a lot more experience. I don’t look at it that way. It’s good that he’s a real reference.
“As I said especially in the times when I struggled a little bit to really get the most out of myself and the car, then it’s good to have that, because it can also help you. As a team it’s good to have two drivers fighting for the same ground on track.”
With just four races to go, Vettel rests nine points behind Leclerc in the drivers’ standings. They both are out of the title hunt though as Hamilton leads the standings commandingly, and rightfully deserves to win, in the eyes of Vettel as well.
“I think obviously Mercedes had the best car the last couple of years, and I think there are other drivers that could’ve had a very good chance at winning a championship, the championship, whatever championship you talk about,” said Vettel.
“But it’s more than that, it’s a combination of that. So, as much as I didn’t enjoy the years where he was winning, especially when we were fighting – not so much towards the end as I would’ve loved to – you have to appreciate the fact that it’s the combination.
“So it’s not just Mercedes and it’s not just Lewis, it’s a combination of the two that have got to the point where they are very very difficult to beat, very consistent, very little errors. That’s credit to him and credit to the team.”
Sebastian Vettel on his mistake and FIA’s clarification
Valtteri Bottas admits about concerns he had of Lewis Hamilton not pitting
Charles Leclerc accepted blame for Turn 2 incident
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton dedicate title to Niki Lauda
Sebastian Vettel enjoyed fight against Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton recalls team dynamics with Alonso when discussing Vettel/Leclerc
The story was written by Duncan Leahy and edited by Darshan Chokhani