F1 News

Leclerc received letter from Vettel: 'Didn't expect it'

Leclerc received letter from Vettel: 'Didn't expect it'

09-12-2022 15:02 Last update: 18:16

GPblog.com

Sebastian Vettels time at Ferrari did not prove to be an easy one. The German was actually in contention for the title in 2017 and 2018, but that changed in 2019 partly due to the arrival of Charles Leclerc. One is particularly familiar with the tense atmosphere on track between the two drivers, but the Monegasque now opens up about his bond with the German off track.

The 25-year-old driver reveals that he received a letter from Vettel during his Formula 2 days. He was also doing simulator work for Ferrari at the time. “It’s not easy work to do because it’s really, really tiring, and I thought that Seb probably didn’t even know I was on the simulator" he tells Speedcafe.com.

He has always been there for me

Following his work in the simulator, Leclerc received a letter from Vettel thanking him for all his hard work.

“He’s always been there for me, whenever I had difficult times, and that was very different to what I was used to with my previous team-mates" said the Monegasque.

“Obviously, information is normal, there’s inner competition inside the team, but he has always been super caring and trying to help me whenever I was going through more difficult times.

That the German driver's farewell was so big shows the impact he has had on the sport. Although Vettel was often known as a hothead in his younger years, that changed as time went on. Many drivers expressed that they were going to miss him, and that the German had meant a lot to them - so too did Leclerc.