"It feels natural" - Max Verstappen on his unique competition with Charles Leclerc in 2022 F1 season

Max Verstappen revealed that his battle with Charles Leclerc feels natural since the duo have battled each other in go-karts before. The reigning champion believes he has had some nice duels with the Ferrari driver, which he has enjoyed.

On being asked about his duels with Leclerc being less aggressive by La Gazetta dello Sport, Verstappen said:

“Every driver is different, in the way they attack or defend. That’s why you always have to go into the fight in a unique way. It feels natural to compete against drivers that I have competed against in the past in karts and have now come to F1.”

Although his duels with Leclerc have been enjoyable, they have not been as aggressive as his duels with Lewis Hamilton in 2021. On being asked why the aggression was lesser, the Dutchman replied by saying dueling different drivers required different approaches but battling rivals he had raced with from his karting days felt more natural.

Having raced the Monagasque driver before in his karting years has, however, resulted in a superfluous duel between the two, according to the 2021 champion. The Ferrari driver has also hailed the duels and described them as hard but fair racing.

Commenting further on his Ferrari rival, the Dutchman said:

“In particular Charles [Leclerc]; it’s nice to see that we are two young guys competing for victories – we’ve fought some nice duels so far. I’m [also] happy that my friend [Carlos] Sainz is now driving a competitive Ferrari, after we made our debut together in 2015.”

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Max Verstappen believes toxic team rivalry led to aggressive battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2021

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 campaign has been hailed as one of the most significant in the history of the sport. While it started on a somber note, it soon meandered into a sour rivalry both on and off the track. Explaining the complex rivalry, the Red Bull driver revealed that the toxic conflict between the teams played a vital role and translated into aggressive duels on the track between the drivers.

Commenting on the aggressive battles with the Mercedes champion, Verstappen said:

“I think in the fight between me and Hamilton, the conflict between Red Bull and Mercedes also played an important role. In addition to everything that happened during the championship, that also inspired the confrontation on the track.”

The rivalry between the duo had mutual respect until the clash at Silverstone where the Briton punted the Dutchman into the barriers, causing a 54G impact. After the crash, the gloves went off between both drivers and teams, which led to toxic politics, aggressive battles, and clashes on-track.

Max Verstappen further narrated his journey through the 2021 season’s battles saying:

“Things don’t work when you have fear. I never thought about the risk of hurting myself. I was only focused on winning. I knew very well what to do and I didn’t need help from others. The experience gained from the previous years in F1 made sure that the best Max emerged.”

Without having to battle each other in 2022, the Briton and Dutchman have had healthy banter during press conferences and even in the paddock. While one has to defend his title, the other has been struggling with performance woes. Unfortunately, due to Max Verstappen’s two DNF’s, the Lewis Hamilton leads the Dutchman by three points in the driver’s standings.