F1 drivers are a fiercely competitive bunch. They absolutely do not like losing and are very critical of their performances. However, the best reference point for a driver’s performance is to compare him to his teammate. Recently Sebastian Vettel made a very bold claim about his last years at Ferrari.

He spent his final years on the team paired with Charles Leclerc. The youngster then beat his 4-time world champion teammate.

Vettel lauds Leclerc for Ferrari days

Sebastian Vettel is one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc was and still is one of the most promising young guns in the sport. They 2 spent 2 years together as teammates at Ferrari in 2019 and 2020. During that time some would argue that the Monegasque got the better of his veteran teammate.

He finished above the German in the driver’s standings in 2019 with 2 wins and 7 poles to his name compared to Sebastian’s 1 win and 2 poles.

2020 saw Ferrari have a torrid time, especially Vettel. Vettel’s last season at Ferrari saw him get comfortably outscored by his teammate Leclerc. He managed 33 points in 2020 while Leclerc scored nearly three times that with 98.

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In a recent clip, Vettel said, “He [Charles] beat me fair and square. He was very fast. I think he will go a long way providing he has the right equipment. We saw that right away, you see it this year.”

And this year Leclerc has been provided the right equipment and he has gone to dominate proceedings this season. He so far has 2 poles, 2 wins, and another P2 finish to his name this season.

Vettel so far in 2022

Sebastian Vettel has had a dismal start to 2022. He missed the opening 2 races in Bahrain and Saudi due to Covid. His return to Australia was far from pleasant either. Vettel’s time in Melbourne was marred by technical issues which saw him lose out in Q1.

The race was not any better as he crashed out nearly halfway through the race. His crash brought out the full safety car. His teammate Lance Stroll fared similarly in the outback. The Canadian set no time in Q1 after crashing with Nicholas Latifi. The race saw him finish P12 and outside the points.

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To add to Vettel’s woes Aston Martin does not look like they have the pace to be up in the midfield battle. However, he will be hoping for a better showing in Emiliano Romana in 2 weeks.