F1 News
Vettel convinced challenging teammate like Leclerc is good for the team
Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel thinks the new challenge of Charles Leclerc is good for the team as both drivers are now pushing the car to the limit, even though there have been on-track tensions between the two drivers early in the season.
Leclerc came to Ferrari as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, who played second fiddle to Vettel for years, never really challenging the German for the number one position at the team.
Leclerc, 21, has looked the quicker of the two drivers at times at the start of the season, causing some tense team radio conversations between the Monegasque and Ferrari when he's behind Vettel.
Still, Vettel has been the better performer of the two so far, beating Leclerc five out of six times in qualifying and also collecting 25 more points.
Leclerc has voiced his annoyance with Ferrari's strategic decisions on multiple occasions, the latest of which coming in Monaco in Q1, when they opted to leave Leclerc in rather than doing a second run, ultimately resulting in the youngster starting from P15 at his home Grand Prix.
“I think it’s positive. We’re pushing each other,” Vettel countered when asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport about his relationship with Leclerc.
"I think that’s a good situation for the team to have two drivers pushing the car to the limit and exploring the limitations. Trying to find out first of all what they are, and second how we can fix them."
Vettel also pointed out that he hasn't had the easiest teammates in the past, with Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo being his latest two sparring partners.
"I think in fairness and keeping the respect, I don’t think I’ve had easy teammates in the past. I don't think Kimi was slow. I think it became apparent for good reasons that Charles is very talented and very fast."
