Toro Rosso racer Alex Albon has talked up the skills of long-time rival Charles Leclerc.
The two drivers have competed against each other for many years in different categories and worked together as teammates in GP3 at ART Grand Prix.
Leclerc would beat Albon to the title that year before winning the F2 title a year later, earning his promotion to F1 with Sauber for 2018.
The British-born Thai driver would have to wait a year longer before getting his chance at the junior Red Bull team, but he is well-placed to evaluate the Monegasque.
“Charles feels the grip very fast, even when it rains,” he explained to Motorsport-Total.
“He has no weakness in slow, medium and fast corners and if you’re faster than him, it’ll be by two or three hundredths at the most, you will not get more.”
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That has proven pretty accurate since Leclerc joined Ferrari for this season, as he has proven to be more than a match for Sebastian Vettel.
The 21-year-old would have won his first race in Bahrain had it not been for an engine issue and it has required team orders on a few occasions to keep the German in front.
Despite his new-found popularity and recent success, however, Albon admits: “If you hit him up in the paddock, he’s still the same guy: modest, very ambitious and very talented.”