If it was any other driver from the midfield to finish 2nd in the championship, he might have loved it. But not Charles Leclerc. Despite the tag of 2022 Vice-champion, the Monegasque was disappointed about his failed title challenge. Yet, the Ferrari driver feels that this season gave him a lot of lessons. Leclerc may have just won 3 races this year. But the development he has seen as a person while getting those wins is precious to him.

Despite finishing 146 points adrift of champion Max Verstappen, Leclerc still feels this year made him more complete as a driver and as a person. In an exclusive interview with the Race earlier in October, he stated, “The discipline I’ve had this year was much better compared to my previous years, just in general.”

Charles explained how he learned to relax much more in between race weekends in 2022. Besides his on-track discipline, he ensured that his off-track life is also running smoothly in order.

Leclerc further added, “I do believe that fighting for wins and fighting back for podiums also helped me personally. I just feel more complete and every year you just learn from the previous experiences. I think this has always been a strength of mine.”

The Monegasque believed he could turn the tide of the title challenge till the 2nd half of the year. Though since Verstappen convincingly sealed the title with 4 races to spare, this reflection of his coming of age is quite mature from Leclerc.

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The Ferrari driver is hoping to be Max’s close challenger again in 2023. Besides some Secret Santa gift banter, the duo has been pretty respectful with each other, even while racing wheel-to-wheel. But, if Leclerc gets under Verstappen’s skin for the championship, will sparks fly between the two?

How is the Charles Leclerc-Max Verstappen rivalry different from the Hamilton-Verstappen tussle?

There was a stark contrast in how Max Verstappen battled with Charles Leclerc in 2022 than with Lewis Hamilton the previous year. The amount of respect and racing room Max left Charles in their battles was arguably different of what he gave Lewis.

Many have speculated why such contrasting approaches. The reason may be that Leclerc and Verstappen have been peers since their karting days. A part of a young crop of drivers including Alex Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris, and many more. So, there is a familiarity with each other’s racing strategies and driving styles.

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While this also can be pointed out how Verstappen was the champion this year and Leclerc the challenger. The Dutchman felt relatively less pressure than he felt facing Hamilton in 2021. Leclerc was arguably in a similar position to Verstappen in 2021.

But, in his defense, the Monegasque also did everything in his capacity to dethrone Max as the champion. The additional factors such as failed strategic calls and bad reliability restricted his challenge critically. Yet, in the races when the duo battled for the win, there were minimal chances of any Max-Lewis link incidents.

To sum it up, if Leclerc challenges the 2-time champion more consistently, their battles might be relatively cleaner. Still, no one knows what happens in F1. One moment of contact and the entire title battle might heat up as it did in 2021.

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Nonetheless, Charles will have to work with Ferrari to get a better package for 2023. So next season, they can challenge Verstappen and Co. more consistently deep into the season. What do you think? Will we see an evolved rivalry between Leclerc and Verstappen next year?