Charles Leclerc admits while he can’t rule out a possible bid for the Formula 1 title in 2019, talk of doing so is “pretentious”.
The Monegasque will become the youngest driver for the Scuderia in over 50 years next season after a stellar rookie season with Sauber earned him a rapid promotion alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Though many think he will be somewhat of an understudy to the four-time world champion and likely play a number two role, the 20-year-old believes winning can be his only ambition.
“I will be going there to try to do the best job from the start,” he said in an interview Mobil 1 the Grid. “It would be pretentious to say that (possible title challenge) now, but this is definitely the target.
“I don’t know whether I will achieve that but, one thing is for sure, I will give my absolute maximum.
“I’ve seen a lot of people that are doubting about this season and that is completely normal and I understand that, but I will just try to prove these people wrong and try to do the best job possible.”
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One thing that has impressed many during his season with the Swiss team is his approach and attitude to racing.
“Obviously you need to be confident that you can do it, but you also need to be very humble and accept that sometimes you need to change things and listen to the people [who have been] in the sport for a long time,” Leclerc explained.
“I’m always very open-minded to any kind of tips or things that I need to change on track or where can I get better. I think this helps a lot. Probably the biggest thing is to listen to people
“I’ve had it [advice] from different people telling me to keep the feet on the ground and always work. That’s something extremely important.”
Leclerc doesn’t expect to change much when he does officially become a race driver for Ferrari, but in the bright lights that will follow he acknowledges there will be some alterations.
“You change a bit as a person because you are trying to protect from people that want to be your friend from one day to another just because of the success you are having, but apart from that I wouldn’t change,” he said.