Charles Leclerc says he’d be happy to see Sebast﷽ian Vettel stay at Ferrari but would support any decision the team makes on who will be his teammate in the&𝔉nbsp;future.

After a breakthrough maiden Formula 1 c💃ampaign as a Ferrari d♊river last year, Leclerc has been rewarded with a long-term contract which keeps him at the Scuderia until at least the end of 2024.

While the 22-year-old’s future is assured, Vettel’s existing Ferrari deal expires at the end of this year which ha⛄s put que🍒stions around the four-time F1 world champion’s place at the team.

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto moved to quieten speculation by confirming Vettel was the team’s first choice to partner Leclerc g🔴oing into 2021 and contract negotiations have already begun.

“Discussions with Sebastian have already started, they started♕ before Christmas at the end of last year and continued here,” Binotto said.

Leclerc accepts he has endured “some tricky moments” as Vettel’s team-mate, with the pair facing off multiple times on track before it came to a head last year when the pair crashed out together in Brazil, but feels their working relationship remain𒈔s strong a🌠nd beneficial for Ferrari.

“With Sebastian the relationship has always been good, last year there have been some tricky moments buඣt our relationship stayed the same, which I think is a good thing,” Leclerc said.

“I think we are both mature enough to do the separation on what happens on track and ওoff track.

“I feel very lucky to be in a position wh🍬ere I have a long-term contract and I am happy to be in this position. I also know in his position, in a way, as my last two years I only had o♛ne-year contracts. I don’t think it will be destabilise him. He is a very strong driver and I expect him to be strong anyway.”

Leclerc acknowledges the decision remains in the hand𓄧s of the Ferrari bosses and he says he would support any outcome regarding his future teammate.

“I am ver💖y good with him by my side but I♑ will respect Ferrari’s decision in case they want to change,” he said.

In re๊cent weeks rumours have linked Daniel Ricciardo to Ferrari if he loses patience at Renault over its progress to climb the F1 pecking order and deliver him a packag🌄e capable of fighting for the world title.