Charles Leclerc has spoken about his “good relationship” with newly announced Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed the former Alfa Romeo chief will be replacing Mattia Binotto from January following the Swiss tendering his resignation from the Scuderia last month.
Vasseur’s arrival is seen as very good news for Leclerc, who made his Formula 1 debut at Alfa Romeo (Sauber) in 2018.
And before the announcement, the Monegasque was asked about the prospect of working with Vasseur again at the recent FIA Prize Giving Gala in Italy.
“I mean, Ferrari is a very different team to any other team,” Leclerc said.
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“I can only comment on my experience with Fred, which obviously has been good. I’ve been working with Fred already from the junior categories where he has believed in me and we’ve always had a good relationship.
“He has always been very straightforward, very honest, and this is something that I liked about Fred. Whether it will be him or not, I don’t know, and we’ll see hopefully in the next few months.”
The assumption from many is that with a close ally now in charge, Leclerc will emerge as the clear No.1 driver at Ferrari, an approach Binotto was unwilling to take.
And Charles played down any potential disruption from the Italian team’s latest change in management.
“Obviously the last few weeks have been a bit difficult for the team and we are in a transition time at the moment,” he added.
“But yeah, on that, I have the full trust of Benedetto [Vigna, Ferrari CEO] and John [Elkann, Ferrari chairman] to take the right decision.
“I am sure that 2023 will be another step forward and hopefully get closer to the goal that we all want in the team, which is to be to be World Champion.
“It will probably require a little bit of time for the new team principal to get at ease with the system and with Ferrari because it’s obviously a huge team.
“But I believe that if it’s done the right way, I don’t think we’ll suffer any of it on the track, so I’m pretty sure it will be a smooth transition.”
Leclerc then ended by paying tribute to Binotto, who leaves after four years in charge.
“Mattia called me to announce that he will stop,” he revealed.
“I respect his decision, and I can only thank him. Obviously, he has believed in me right from the start.
“He extended me with a very, very long contract, and before being team principal he was also inside the Scuderia for many, many years and he has contributed to the success the team had in the past years.
“So I wish him the best, and obviously now it’s up to us to focus on the future, try and take the right choices in order to be a bit more of a challenge to Red Bull next year.”