"He's always been there for me" - Charles Leclerc recalls Sebastian Vettel's kind gesture for all his hard work

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc praised his former teammate Sebastian Vettel as the latter heads into the final race of his F1 career. Both drivers were at Ferrari in 2019 and 2020 and shared a fond relationship, on and off the track.

During the drivers' press conference, Leclerc was asked about Vettel and their time together at Ferrari. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Monegasque expressed how much they respected each other off the track, despite having tense moments in several races. He also mentioned how Vettel supported him in difficult times, something which he will cherish.

Charles Leclerc 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."

Later on, Leclerc told a story about when he was in F2 and worked on the simulator for Ferrari. He thought that Sebastian Vettel didn't notice him working hard to improve the car's performance. He, however, received a letter from the German, thanking him for all his efforts.

Leclerc said:

"I remember, already in Formula 2, I was doing the simulator work, which, okay, it's not an easy work to do, because it's really, really tiring and I thought that Seb probably didn't even know I was on the simulator. And I received a letter one day, just thanking me for all the hard work. And that meant a lot for me at that time. But that was only a small thing."

Sebastian Vettel will be leaving Aston Martin and the sport after the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend.

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Fernando Alonso explains how Sebastian Vettel's career is linked to his own

Fernando Alonso has been one of the toughest drivers Sebastian Vettel has ever raced against in his F1 career. Both have shared the track for 15 years, fighting for championships, race victories, and even midfield positions.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, at the drivers' press conference in Abu Dhabi, the Spaniard explained how his and Vettel's careers are deeply linked to each other.

Alonso said:

"I think my career is going to be linked to Sebastian in a way because we fought for many great things and in the best seasons of our life, probably, and even though it was on his side, the outcome always. I think it's going be very linked, our two names – or my name in Sebastian’s career, and vice versa."

After Vettel leaves Aston Martin and the sport, Alonso will take his place in the team alongside Lance Stroll for the 2023 F1 season.