Charles Leclerc raced with Sebastian Vettel for two seasons at Ferrari and said the best memories he has are for what the German used to do off the track
Undoubtedly, Sebastian Vettel will leave a mark in Formula 1 not only for his achievements on the track, but also in the relationship with his colleagues, as Charles Leclerc remembered. To Autosport magazine, the Ferrari Monegasque revealed that he received a message from the four-time champion after his abandonment in the French GP and said that it is something common, because Vettel "always tries to make him feel better".
The crash on lap 18 was caused by a mistake by Leclerc at turn 11 of the Paul Ricard circuit. He was in the lead when he lost control of his car and ended up in the tire cover. Coincidentally, a very similar move happened to Vettel himself in 2018 at the German GP - the German crashed while leading and paved the way to victory for Lewis Hamilton, who would take the championship lead and never get out of it again.
"It's a lot of moments, but definitely not one on the track," Leclerc said when asked about Vettel's favorite memories. "All the moments in the factory, and the way our relationship has evolved over the years, because I came in the first year [at Ferrari] and I was impressed."
Vettel and Leclerc were teammates at Ferrari for two seasons, 2019 and 2020. Alongside the four-time champion, he led Ferrari to fourth place in his first year, the duo's best result in the Constructors' World Cup.
"I think he thought I was weird, because I was shy and didn't know what to talk about when I was with him. But he is a friend and always sends me messages, as he did after Sunday," revealed the driver about the past race.
"He always tries to make me feel better when I'm going through a hard time. So it's good to see how much I have grown since I met him," he stressed.
Vettel announced on Thursday (28), at the age of 35, that he will end his World Championship career at the end of the 2022 season. Last week, the four-time champion had expressed his interest in renewing his contract with Aston Martin, but justified that he wants to spend more time with his family.