Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are the same age, as only 16 days separate the two top drivers of the 2022 Formula 1 season, as they even share the same zodiac sign (Libra). On September 30, 1997 and October 16 of the same year, the two drivers were born. The two have been long time rivals ever since their junior karting career and for the first time in this 2022 they fought for the Formula 1 World title.
The career of the two champions separated when Max Verstappen took the Toro Rosso-Red Bull highway to land in Formula 1 when he was still very young, while Charles Leclerc’s path was more traditional with victory in GP3 and in Formula 2 before arriving in Formula 1 with Ferrari’s support.
Already in 2019, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were involved in some unforgettable battles, even if at the time the stake was represented just by a victory (in Austria) or a prestigious final position in Great Britain). The fight between the two has always been exciting for the public and the first half of this championship was heart-pounding with Charles and Max often engaged in wheel-to-wheel duels as happened in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Austria. What could have been a fight destined to create suspense and thrill until the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season seems to have now been decided in favor of the Red Bull driver.
Max Verstappen could have been crowned world champion already in Singapore with a series of lucky combination of results, but next weekend in will have the first real match-point which depends exclusively on him and on Red Bull (he must win the Japanese Grand Prix and secure the fastest lap of the race).
Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc had too many problems of several types – reliability, strategic decisions made by the pitwall and even some mistakes on Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s part – and so Max Verstappen and Red Bull were able to gain a big lead in the championship, despite the fact that the F1-75 was the fastest car in most of the races from the first part of the season.
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Asked whether this could be the first title fully deserved by the Red Bull driver, Charles Leclerc stressed that all the titles in F1 are deserved, therefore even that of last year: “The imponderable is part of our sport and all titles are deserved” – the Ferrari driver said, in a recent interview granted to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
Furthermore, with great honesty, Charles Leclerc admitted that he obviously feels annoyed at the thought that his rival will soon celebrate another world title: “There is regret because the F1-75 had excellent performances, but we lost valuable points along the way.” – the Monegasque drive admitted.
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