Charles Leclerc gives Michael Schumacher verdict as Ferrari driver hails Sebastian Vettel
Charles Leclerc has named Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel as two of the F1 drivers he's looked up to.
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Charles Leclerc has revealed Michael Schumacher was his hero growing up and he's hailed the influence Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel is now having on his career. Leclerc made quite the impression during his first season at Ferrari as he trumped Vettel to finish fourth in the 2019 drivers' standings.
The 22-year-old will be eager to improve on that performance as the delayed 2020 F1 campaign unfolds.
Ferrari are in the midst of a title drought stretching back for more than 10 years and the days of Schumacher's dominance with them seem a distant memory.
Leclerc, who Ferrari are putting their faith in going forward, has now opened up on how Schumacher inspired him when he was growing up.
"The Ferrari driving hero for me and I think for many [people] was Michael," Leclerc said, during a Ferrari Q&A. "I was young when he was winning but it was always very impressive and any time I was watching the Formula 1, and especially Ferrari, it was obviously Michael that I was looking at."
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Leclerc was rewarded with a new long-term contract over the winter as Ferrari hinted he will be their No 1 driver moving forward.
The Monegasque and Vettel clashed at times last season, but there is clearly a great deal of respect between them and Leclerc regards his team-mate as among "the best".
"Patience is something which is very important and something which I struggled to have in the past," Leclerc said. "But I learnt with Ferrari you need it as obviously you can’t have everything right away.
"Sometimes you need a bit of patience to learn from the best, from Seb, and from the team and things take time to settle. You need to wait a little bit sometimes. I was a bit too impatient before."
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Leclerc was born in 1997, three years after F1 legend Ayrton Senna tragically passed away following a crash at Imola.
The Ferrari ace regards the three-time World Drivers' Championship winner as one of the greatest drivers of all time.
"Difficult," Leclerc said, when asked what would like to know if he ever met Senna. "What I would ask maybe is what the closest track is, because it would be a dream for me to race with him and learn from him.
"He was a person whom I look up to a lot, who had a lot of talent but also worked very hard. Putting these two things together made him the best."