Leclerc 'the most perfect driver' says veteran F1 sporting director

Long-standing Sauber sporting director Beat Zehnder says Charles Leclerc is the "most perfect driver" he has ever worked with in Formula 1.

Zehnder has been a prominent member of the Sauber family since the 1980s, the Swiss starting his career as a mechanic at Hinwil before moving up the ladder and becoming the outfit's team manager in F1 and then its sporting director.

Over the course of his career, the F1 veteran has mentored the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and Leclerc.

In 2018, after sealing the title in the FIA Formula 2 Championship the year before, Leclerc was promoted to a race seat in F1 with Sauber where he earned his stripes under Zehnder's guidance which led to his logical move to Ferrari in 2019.

"Charles for me is a huge talent and probably the most perfect driver I’ve worked with," Zehnder told RacingNews365.com.

"Looking at his eagerness to understand the sport, the technical side, questioning himself – probably every now and then a little bit too much – he’s got a very healthy portion of self-criticism."

• Read also: Ferrari has 'no doubts' about Leclerc's motivation

Leclerc's ability to own up to his mistakes and question himself is a trait displayed by very few drivers according to Zehnder.

"This for me makes a difference to a lot of drivers, not blaming someone else, it’s first blaming yourself," said the 57-year-old manager.

In 2019, Leclerc's transfer to Maranello where he replaced Kimi Raikkonen alongside Sebastian Vettel at the Scuderia saw the Finn head back to Sauber, the team with which he made his F1 debut in 2001.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Raikkonen and a second opportunity for Zehnder to work with the 2007 F1 World Champion whose remarkable qualities he also enthusiastically praised.

"Kimi is pure driving talent, he’s unbelievable," commented the Swiss. "Even when he was a little bit older when he came back, he can [still] drive every machine very quick – quicker than probably someone else without spending too much time in setup so he can sit in something and he feels [comfortable]."

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