“Max Verstappen played the same game with Leclerc as he did with Hamilton”: Mark Hughes highlights similarities between two rivalries

“Max Verstappen played the same game with Leclerc as he did with Hamilton”: Mark Hughes highlights similarities between two rivalries

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

This season’s title race appears to be centred on current world champion Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the latter has a twenty-point advantage over the Red Bull Racing driver, but there is no evidence of this on the track. They are consistently attempting to pass each other without colliding. They’re already acquainted with each other from their karting days, so they have a lot of shared regard for each other on the track.

In Bahrain, Leclerc proved to be the more astute of the two drivers by making effective use of the DRS. Verstappen cleared Leclerc at the first corner three times, but each time the Ferrari driver was capable of passing him again at the fourth corner using DRS. What helped Leclerc’s situation despite having a strong lead over the other drivers is that Max Verstappen had to retire his RB18 in the closing laps of the race at the Bahrain International Circuit due to a fuel pump issue after visibly suffering from steering issues throughout the race.

As for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Charles Leclerc who started the race at P2 lost this win to the Dutchman when Verstappen gained on him with the advantage of DRS. Leclerc was able to hold off his lead for a while only for Verstappen to take the lead a while later. Verstappen was then able to defend comfortably against Leclerc and went on to get his first win of the 2022 season.

FS Video

Max Verstappen learns from the mistake at Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Verstappen cleared him in the penultimate lap, but Leclerc then applied DRS to pass him again in the first corner. However, the next time it was different, as Verstappen slammed on the brakes to get DRS towards the first corner. On this final DRS, F1 journalist Mark Hughes mentioned, “Verstappen dived for the inside, but was determined not to get to the DRS line first.”

“Much the same game he played here with Hamilton last year and actually locked up in his eagerness to stay behind“. Max Verstappen had a dramatic win over 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton last season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where there seemed to be very little hope for the Dutchman to win the title for the majority of the race at the Yas Marina Circuit until a safety car situation was employed due to Williams’ Nicholas Latifi’s crash.

Verstappen, according to Hughes, soon realized from both deeds. The Dutchman passed the Monacan driver on lap 47 and then successfully defended against Leclerc. This season has a lot of chances of seeing Verstappen and Leclerc engage in absolutely neck-to-neck battles given how close the two drivers were in the first two Grand Prixs of the season.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia GP: Twitter labels Max Verstappen as a ‘spoilt child’ following ‘This is unfair’ message during Charles Leclerc’s battle