Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc can move ahead of Max Verstappen and become Formula 1’s next “biggest star”.
The Monegasque has certainly made his mark since joining the Scuderia at the start of last year, installing himself as the clear lead driver going forward at the expense of the four-time world champion.
After two wins and seven poles last year, Leclerc’s main attribute has been outperforming a tragically slow Ferrari this season, claiming two podiums and fighting to finish fourth in the Drivers’ standings.
And though he saw another podium slide away literally with a mistake on the final lap in Turkey, Vettel, who inherited third, paid tribute for his teammate of three more races.
“For me, I think Charles is perhaps the biggest star for the future, maybe more than Max because he’s good,” he said post-race.
“Having Charles as a teammate, I often see myself in him as well. He is a lot younger, he is very quick.”
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After crossing the line fourth following his error, Leclerc berated himself on the radio claiming he’d done a “s**t job”.
But Vettel said he would reassure the 23-year-old that ultimately, it wasn’t a huge deal.
“I haven‘t had the chance to talk to him after the race, but I will tell him later that being on the podium today is a bit irrelevant for him because he has so many years ahead of him, so many podiums to come. I am sure of that,” he said.
“It is right that Charles is angry. He did a mistake, lost the podium that way. But as I said, in the big picture probably irrelevant for him.”
The only small plus is that it did at least give Vettel his first podium since Mexico last year, and also came after both he and Leclerc touched fighting for a top-three finish in Brazil.
“I think I’m mature enough, I never let this kind of stuff really heat up and get between us,” he said on if there was any needle. “I’m happy for anything that he achieves and will achieve in the future because he’s a good kid.
“Obviously it was a very tough race and I think all of us were very close to losing it completely at various stages in the race. Obviously, it’s extra painful when it happens in the last lap.”
