Vettel "sad" about Raikkonen departure

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel reveals that he is "sad" to be losing his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the season...

It was recently confirmed that Sauber youngster Charles Leclerc would be making the step-up to Ferrari and Raikkonen would be returning to Sauber in a sort of exchange deal.

Vettel and Raikkonen have been team-mates at Scuderia since 2015 and the German confirmed that the Finn is the best team-mate he has ever driven with.

"One thing you can express in numbers and results and so on but I think that's not the most important thing," Vettel explained to RaceFans.net. "The most important thing if you are team-mates is the respect that you have for each other.

"And probably the degree of bullsh*t going on between each other. With Kimi it's been zero from the start and I don't think it will change until the end.

"Obviously it's a great chance for Charles but it's sad to know Kimi is not there any more because I think we get along very well even though we are different, we have a lot of mutual respect."

Vettel is excited for Leclerc's step-up to Scuderia, though: "He's been in the junior programme of the team for a long time, so it's good to see there is progression."

The German also revealed that he is yet to speak to Leclerc since the move was confirmed.

"I don't have his number," Vettel added. "These days I'm sure he was very busy anyway. If I get to see him then I'm sure I will find the right words. By the sounds of it, we will have enough time to exchange our phone number in the future."