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After the 2022 F1 season came to a close, Sebastian Vettel retired from the sport. The legendary German driver won four world championships in his career, placing him among the sport's greatest. During a special interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast, he revealed who he saw his younger self in.
Sebastian Vettel mentions Charles Leclerc while talking about his time at Ferrari and his teammates. He expressed how the Monegasque was near and dear to him and how he learned a lot from the youngster.
Sebastian Vettel said:
"[Leclerc was] in a very different time in his career and his life, and it was funny, because I watched him and we got along really well, I think. I really enjoyed the time we spent together. He taught me some things, not necessarily about driving, but it was a little bit as if I was looking at my younger self, and it did take a little bit of time to understand that."
While talking about Charles Leclerc, Sebastian Vettel also reminisced about the difficulties he faced while he was at Ferrari. Winning a World Championship with the scarlet team was Vettel's dream, which unfortunately didn't happen. He said:
"In '17, we had a great car, and we fell short. [In] '18, we had a great car, [but] we fell short again at the end. Just both years, we didn't keep the development pace up, and we just fell back, so we got beaten."
Despite all this, Vettel has consistently expressed how he took all the positives from the time he spent at Ferrari, especially with his teammates. He expressed how Kimi Raikkonen and Leclerc were closest to him.
Charles Leclerc speaks about his relationship with Sebastian Vettel
Charles Leclerc also showed tremendous respect for Sebastian Vettel as he spoke about him during a drivers' press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The Monegasque spent two years alongside the German driver at Ferrari as they experienced lots of ups and downs. He said:
"We've had our tense moments on track, but the respect off the track has never changed and he's always been there for me whenever I had difficult times. And that was very different to what I was used to with my previous teammates."
When Leclerc was in F2 and did all the simulator work for Ferrari, Vettel noticed it and sent a letter to the Monegasque, thanking him for all the hard work he did.
