Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has reinforced his support for teammate Kimi Raikkonen. His praises come despite many clamouring for the Scuderia to promote youngster Charles Leclerc.

The scene mirrored that of last year when there was intense speculation regarding Raikkonen’s seat. Vettel firmly stated that he would only be satisfied with Raikkonen as a teammate.

In the last month, there has been a lot of speculation surrounding Sauber Alfa Romeo rookie Charles Leclerc. Many tipped him to be a potential successor for Kimi Raikkonen next year. The Monegasque driver commanded attention with stunning results in a poor car. He has even outpaced his more experienced teammate, Marcus Ericsson, on several occasions.

Being a product of the Ferrari academy, Leclerc’s progress has garnered plenty of interest from the Scuderia. He was even favoured by late Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne as a future Ferrari star.

But Vettel has clearly stood behind Kimi despite the odds against the Finn. Marchionne’s death also may complicate things and possibly jeopardise a Ferrari move for Leclerc.

‘I love Kimi,’ Vettel said. “I have never had one word of disagreement with him. We can get along well with each other, both on the track and next to it. We are both the same type of person. Honest and direct. That helps to build a relationship of trust. ”

The 4-time F1 World Champion highlighted the difference in mentality and experience between the two. But he refused to maintain that one was better than the other. Instead, Vettel believes that LeClerc is too young and inexperienced to drive for Ferrari.

But for now, Vettel and Raikkonen have trained their focus on this weekend’s race in Hungary. Since it is not a power-hungry circuit, the threat of Mercedes is not so high. But the flip side of the coin is the threat from Red Bull.