Charles Leclerc: This year’s battles with Max Verstappen are ‘less aggressive than usual’
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Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are considered two of Formula 1’s brightest stars. While Verstappen has already won a championship, Leclerc is in search of it this season, and for the first time, the Monegasque is truly in a consistently championship-contending car, a similar situation to Verstappen last year.
The two have had their fair share of battles – with Austria and Silverstone back in 2019 being the most notable in mind. In Austria, Verstappen had overtaken Leclerc with an on-the-limit move three laps from the end, in which he touched tires with Leclerc, pushing him off the track at turn 3. Leclerc was certainly not happy with it and responded with his own bit of hard racing in Silverstone.
Their history goes back to their karting days, with one of the most famous ‘inchidents’ being documented in a very famous video clip, where Verstappen claimed Leclerc had pushed him off the track, and when asked on what happened, Leclerc responded: “Nothing, just an incident on the race.” Earlier this year, Leclerc also said that he and Verstappen had a very intense rivalry and that they ‘hated each other’.
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Charles Leclerc on his duels with Verstappen: “It has always been racing on the limit”
This year, however, it seems that the two have cooled off a bit. Neither are driving as aggressive against each other. This is especially a departure for Verstappen, who last year, could be at times overzealous or very aggressive in his driving against Lewis Hamilton, but the circumstances were certainly different.
Last year, towards the end stages, Mercedes indisputably had the faster car, and Verstappen had to compensate for it with very hard racing, but this year, he seems more at ease, perhaps because he has already won the title once. Verstappen has said that he has raced against Leclerc a lot more so they understand each other better than he did with Hamilton, and Karun Chandhok also thinks that there is a shift in mindset with Verstappen this year.
In an interview with Motorsport-Magazin.com, Charles Leclerc said: “I love the duel with Max. Of course, we’ve known each other for a long time. It’s always been racing at the limit. This year it’s even a little less aggressive than usual. We’ve been together over the years grew up and know each other’s weaknesses. We know each other well, that’s what makes it so exciting. There’s a lot of respect between us.”
The two have duelled with each other on many occasions this year, with Bahrain and Jeddah being the most notable ones, and Austria can be counted as well, even if Leclerc had a distinct advantage on the tyres, he overtook Verstappen 3 times, and there have been no collisions or even contact between the two. When asked on how the battle stands compared to last year’s title battle, Leclerc said:
“I don’t want to say anything about the battle between Max and Lewis. I was not part of that battle, because last year I was competing for less interesting positions, unfortunately.”
Of course, it is entirely possible that the battle may heat up as the season proceeds and the two get closer on the points table. But it may not heat up at all, as Christian Horner has stated that the battle with Ferrari is a lot more ‘pleasant’ and compared to their battle last year with Mercedes, and there is not much hostility between the current two frontrunners.
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