Charles Leclerc Takes a Sly Dig at Max Verstappen While Praising Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc prefers battling Lewis Hamilton more than Max Verstappen because of their different racing styles. He blames Max Verstappen for going “a bit over the limit” in their on-track fights during the 2019 season.

Charles Leclerc was part of this week’s Sky Sports F1 podcast. He talked about his rivals, life in lockdown, and his Esports success. In the episode, the Ferrari star compared the driving style of his two biggest rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Leclerc was talking about Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving style. He said, “It’s always exciting to be fighting with Max,” “There’s very little space given but I think that’s what we all enjoy with the sport.

Leclerc goes on to explain the difference between racing against Verstappen and Hamilton. And he goes on to appreciate two of his biggest F1 rivals. The Ferrari driver says that he finds it exciting to race against Max. And finds it even more educational than going head to head with current world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc is more comfortable battling Lewis Hamilton for the championship

Former F1 driver, Paul Di Resta asked him which driver would he prefer to be battling against for the lead toward the end of the race. Leclerc replied that he would go for a safer option i.e. Lewis.

“If I want to be sure to finish the race, probably Lewis. But for the fun and the close racing probably Max, because I know it’s always exciting to be fighting with Max.”

Leclerc explained, “Lewis is a bit of a different driving”. “He’s not very aggressive, always very correct. But always very good to anticipate what you are going to do.”

Appreciating the six-time F1 world champion Charles added, “He’s extremely clever, and I learn always so much when I fight with Lewis. He always knows exactly what you are going to do next with his experience. That’s what makes him so good on track with the battles.”