In the last five races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have not had the opportunity to fight after the two were involved in a series of spectacular duels during the first five rounds of 2022, when the reigning world champion and the Ferrari driver crossed paths on track several times, from Sakhir to Miami via Jeddah, Melbourne and Imola. Since Barcelona and up to the latest race, which took place at Silverstone last weekend, on the other hand, for various reasons Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were no longer able to enjoy their close battles that provided a great show for all Formula 1 fans.
The relationship between the two seems really close thanks to a long experience that has seen them chasing the dream called Formula 1 since childhood. In the press conference after the qualifying session for the 2022 British Grand Prix last Saturday, Max Verstappen smiled looking towards Charles Leclerc answering the question about why he had missed pole position to which he replied “I had a yellow flag” caused by Charles.
In the same way, on Sunday the two had a discussion at the end of the race and Max Verstappen’s face seemed truly amazed as he listened to the point of view of the Ferrari driver, who slipped from first to fourth position after the Maranello team decided not to mount the soft tires when the on the Safety Car was deployed due to the retirements of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine. The sincere compliments between the two, sometimes even expressed via radio, were never lacking at the end of each session.
Asked by the British broadcaster Channel 4 on the relationship between him and Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen replied: “I think there is more respect between me and him than what we saw in 2021 – he admitted – not so much at the level of drivers, as for the level of respect between the two teams, in this case Ferrari and Red Bull. Charles and I have known each other since we were children, we laugh when we think about all the accidents we have had in the past and I believe this helps us to experience a more peaceful and respectful atmosphere. I hope it can go on like this” – the Dutchman added.
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Max Verstappen however wanted to reiterate that the respect he has for Charles Leclerc is no different from that he has for his 2021 F1 world championship rival Lewis Hamilton: “I have always had and still have a lot of respect for Lewis and we have always gotten along well, and even today, as drivers, we know that we get together every Sunday trying to do everything to win and that what can happen is forgotten very quickly and we just move on. The fact that there are many races helps in this sense to move forward after any episodes” – the Red Bull Racing driver concluded.
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