Max Verstappen chooses Red Bull’s fierce rival as the best F1 qualifier on the grid

Max Verstappen didn’t hesitate when asked who he considers the best qualifier on today’s Formula 1 grid. Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the four-time world champion picked one of Red Bull’s fiercest rivals, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc holds the record of most F1 poles without a championship. He has 27 poles in his career in 165 starts, and has always been considered to have raw one-lap pace. When asked by Mundo Deportivo about the best driver in qualifying, Verstappen said:

"Phew, it's difficult, but I think that currently, I've always considered Charles Leclerc to be a very good driver in qualifying."

For context, Lewis Hamilton leads the all-time list with 104 poles from 372 races, while Max Verstappen sits at 45 poles in 225 starts, placing him fifth all-time. To catch Lewis, Leclerc would need 470 races at the current rate.

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc after the 2020 British GP. Source: Getty

Yet Verstappen’s praise for Leclerc goes beyond the numbers. The Ferrari star’s ability to risk everything on a single run and still make it count is exceptional. The Spanish GP in 2022 was a prime example. Despite spinning on his first Q3 lap, Leclerc nailed his second flying lap to take pole.

At Singapore in 2019, Charles Leclerc weaved his car between the walls to claim one of the most audacious poles in recent years. Even earlier, at Interlagos in 2018, he put his Sauber into Q3 in wet conditions, showing his instinctive car control over a single lap.

His latest masterclass came at the Hungaroring this year, where he won Ferrari’s first pole of the season. In what was the closest Q3 in F1 history, with just 0.543s separating the top 10, Leclerc edged the superior McLarens to earn his 27th career pole. It was his first-ever front-row start in Hungary.

During the same rapid-fire session with Mundo Deportivo, Verstappen also called Leclerc one of the best overtakers on the grid.

When Max Verstappen reflected on his F1 journey with Charles Leclerc since karting days

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc before the 2022 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain. Source: Getty

The respect between the two extends beyond qualifying. After losing one such pole to Charles Leclerc at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, Max Verstappen reflected on their relationship. Both drivers came up through karting at the same time, regularly contesting for junior championships.

Verstappen came through Red Bull’s junior program, while Leclerc won GP3 and F2 titles under the guidance of Nicolas Todt, before making his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018. Verstappen debuted earlier, in 2015, with Toro Rosso. Speaking to F1 in 2023, Verstappen said:

"I always thought that, if I would make it to F1, Charles will also make it. You can see already from a young age the really strong drivers. It’s never been a surprise to me that Charles is sitting here. Of course, after that you need a little bit of luck to be in the right team to get on the front row, but it’s not a surprise that we are sitting here together.”

Leclerc also echoed the sentiment.

"I think we knew that we were very fast because we were already competitive in karting and whenever we changed categories, we were always competitive. But it’s still such a long way off F1 that you don’t really imagine yourself there... It’s amazing, I have really, really good memories," he added.

Their careers remain intertwined. With eight races left in the 2025 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen sits third in the standings with seven podiums and three wins, while Leclerc is fifth with five podium finishes. They are separated by 67 points, both enduring campaigns that fall short of their standards.

F1 heads into a brief break before returning to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 21, as their rivalry carries on.