Friends no, never that. It would be impossible due to the character differences that separate them and the ferocious hunger for victory that inevitably leads them to clash on the track. Charles Leclerc e Max Verstappen However, who have been rivals on the circuits since they were kids, they are discovering less ‘enemies’ than they were at the dawn of their adventure in the world of motorsport. The videos of the reciprocal pricks in the days of karting have gone viral on the internet, but it is enough to go back three seasons, to 2019, to remember how the two struggled to get along even in the Circus. Now, however, the Dutch and the Monegasque seem to have smoothed out their differences, increasing mutual esteem. Verstappen himself, after Saturday’s qualifying, had emphasized the pleasure of challenging Leclerc and Sainz, two drivers with (and against) whom he has actually grown up.
Yesterday at the end of the podium ceremony, while Leclerc was reviewing the various televisions for the ritual interviews, Verstappen approached him spontaneously and she shook his hand, smiling. “Good job!”The comment of the reigning champion to the new leader of the championship. “Hey man, what a bitch“, Leclerc’s response, referring to the rival’s retirement in the last laps. “Things that happen. It was nice“. “Yes, it was fun”, the exchange of words between the two continues, referring to the spectacular duel on the track staged after the first series of stops. Three overtakes by Verstappen and three immediate counter-overtakes by Leclerc, which helped to secure the Ferrari driver’s success. The chat then continues for almost a minute, complete with technical explanations of their challenge and the subsequent withdrawal of the orange.
Scenes, that of a prolonged exchange of compliments between the two, which had never been seen last year between the same Dutchman and Lewis Hamilton. It is true that there was a World Championship up for grabs there, while this is only the first race of the season, but it seems difficult to think that Leclerc and Verstappen do not realize that, almost certainly, the hunt for the 2022 title will largely pass from their challenges. Also there fairness in the duel between the two phenomena born in 1997 represented a clear break with respect to the battles that # 33 experienced last year against Hamilton. Who knows that the generational component, Leclerc and Verstappen were born two weeks apart from each other, did not bring them closer, as opposed to that ‘old guard’ represented above all by the seven-time world champion.
Verstappen: “Good job!”.
Leclerc: “Hey man, what a fuck”.
Verstappen: “Things that happen. It was nice”.
Leclerc: “Yes it was fun!”.
Verstappen: “[Il distacco] he was big eh “.
Leclerc: “I was struggling so much with charging. When recharging the battery. You filmed me like an airplane ”.
Verstappen: “You obviously had to defend yourself.”
Leclerc: “Yes, but I couldn’t use it. That’s why you came at me from so far away ”.
Leclerc: “What happened to you?”.
Verstappen: “I do not know. At some point the engine completely shut down. I had some power cuts and then it went out. And I also had steering problems. It wasn’t something plumbing, but it didn’t turn smoothly. It was like stuck. In the high-speed corners I could barely turn. This is why I was unable to follow you on the restart. I was stuck, I couldn’t turn left ”.
Leclerc: “For real?”.
Verstappen: “Yup”.
Leclerc: “M***a”.
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