Source: Sauber Media

F1 News

Leclerc set to 'ignore' comparisons

Leclerc set to 'ignore' comparisons

22-05-2018 15:06

Sam Bytheway

Sauber driver Charles Leclerc insists he is going to try and ignore comparisons to F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, but is honoured with the likening.

Leclerc is in his maiden season in F1, featuring for Alfa-Romeo Sauber even as he remains a member of Ferrari's academy. The 20-year-old is the current Formula Two champion, and is tipped to be a future world champion by figures such as Alain Prost and Niki Lauda.

"Of course it's a great honour to be associated with those names already," he said.

"But I try to ignore this sort of thing because I still have a lot to learn in Formula 1."

The Monaco native displayed maturity when discussing the praise from Prost, saying:

"That gives me a lot of confidence as well. We've known each other for a long time because he has a house in the South of France."

"When you fight with such an aggressive driver and a two-time world champion, you will learn twice as much as you do with most other drivers," he added.

"And Fernando started at the back too, with Minardi.

"The more information you have about the car, the more confidence you get. Maybe that was missing in the first two races. You make mistakes.

"In addition, the jump from Formula 2 to Formula 1 is much bigger than you can imagine. The tyre management is a science in its own right."