Charles Leclerc reflects on the three teammates he has had during his tenure at Ferrari so far. The Monegasque driver spent his first two years at the Scuderia alongside Sebastian Vettel, before Carlos Sainz took over from the German world champion. The Spaniard, in turn, made way for Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc candidly shares what he learned from Vettel and the skill of Sainz he secretly envied.
Charles Leclerc has been driving for Ferrari since 2019, making him the more experienced driver at the Scuderia compared to Lewis Hamilton, who joined this year. The Monegasque has had three teammates during his time at the Italian racing team, and he openly shares what he has learned from each of these men. When Leclerc was promoted from Sauber to the Italian top team, Sebastian Vettel was already in the other Ferrari seat.
“I’ve always had great teammates in Formula 1 over the past few years,” says Leclerc. “First there was Sebastian Vettel. He is an incredibly hard worker and I was able to see up close how much attention he paid to even the smallest details. I learned a lot from him.” Vettel decided to swap Ferrari for Aston Martin in 2021, and was replaced by Carlos Sainz.
Jealousy
The two young drivers were evenly matched during their time at Ferrari. While Charles Leclerc amassed a total of 1029 World Championship points, Sainz was hot on his heels with over 900 points earned during his tenure with the Scuderia. “Then came the four years with Carlos Sainz. He was always able to adapt very quickly to all sorts of conditions, and I was sometimes jealous of that,” Leclerc admits. The Spaniard had to make way for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the end of 2024.
The British driver has been Leclerc’s teammate at the Scuderia since the last Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton still struggles to adapt to the Italian team’s car – he even called himself ‘useless’ for Ferrari after a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix and suggested that the Scuderia should put another driver in the SF-25 – but Leclerc labels the world champion as ‘a unique talent’. “He is a legend of the sport,” concludes the Monegasque.
