Leclerc: I can learn a lot from Vettel but I am here to beat him

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto made this clear to the 21-year-old who was slotted into the world's most famous team alongside a four-time F1 World Champion ten years his senior. the hierarchy was there by default.

But Leclerc has been as quick and on many occasions faster than Vettel which has provided the team, prone to inexplicable strategy decisions, with a dilemma of sorts as they grapple with the driver hierarchy.

In terms of team orders, he has generally obeyed with accompanying lip-drop of reluctance and even went as far as disobeying during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

In an interview with BBC, Leclerc had been told by Binotto that in "50-50" situations which he admitted did not sit well but accepted, "It's part of it, so you need to get used to it and understand it, being clever when you accept them and when you don't, and for now it has worked pretty well."

In Bahrain, with the fastest car on the night and a first F1 victory beckoning, Leclerc defied the Red pitwall and took matters into his own hands

He recalled, "There were a few races where it was reasonable and then others like in Bahrain when I thought it was better not to respect them because in the car I felt I had more information than they had on the pit wall. That's how I felt it.

"I felt like I had a significant pace advantage, I was coming quite quickly and I felt it reasonable to overtake. In the end, I understand they are trying to do the best job for the team and I completely understand.

"It can be very frustrating from the car sometimes but it is all about staying calm and then the mental work I have done since the beginning of my career helps.

"I'm still very early in my racing career and I am pretty sure there is a lot more I can learn and a lot more things I can do better. I will focus on these things and hopefully, there will be even more turning points in the future."

The fact that he is paired with a man that has 52 Grand Prix victories serves to inspire Leclerc, "It was always going to be a very interesting challenge for me.

"I am at the beginning of my career. He is a very experienced driver and to have him by my side is very important because I can definitely grow a lot and learn a lot things from him, which I did from the beginning of the season.

"But it is also a great challenge for me to try to beat him, and that's what I am here for. I always want to be the fastest on track and I always try to give absolutely everything to be in front," concluded Leclerc.

Heading to the Belgian Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2019 F1 World Championship, Leclerc lies fifth in the championship on 132 points, with Vettel on 156 and championship leader Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on 250. Nine rounds remain.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2019/08/19/leclerc-i-need-that-first-win-as-quickly-as-possible/