“It was either me or him”– Charles Leclerc admits he used to hate Max Verstappen

Tanish Chachra | 22/04/2022
"It was either me or him"– Charles Leclerc admits he used to hate Max Verstappen

Charles Leclerc admits that he used to hate Max Verstappen when he was younger, as the rivalry between them goes far back into their teenage years.

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are of the same age. Thus, the two have often faced each other at every stage of their motorsport career. That led to a fierce rivalry before they even entered F1.

Now, with Ferrari’s resurgence, Verstappen and Leclerc are once again locking horns against each other for the F1 championship. So far, the rivalry between them has been clean and respectful.

But the Monegasque race driver reveals that it hasn’t been like this. He admits to the BBC that both drivers used to hate each other during his younger days.

“It is going to be very close. It has always been very close,” said Leclerc. “In karting, it was either me or him and that’s why we hated each other at one point because very often it didn’t end in the best way possible.”

Also read: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Live Steam, Telecast 2022 and F1 Schedule: When and where to watch the race in Imola?

Charles Leclerc confident for Imola

After winning two out of the first three races of the season, Ferrari heads to Italy to compete, where they are set to receive massive support. Thus, Leclerc is pretty confident about his team’s chances this weekend.

“I am very excited,” he said. “After the first three races, everything has gone our way, and we seem to have a very strong car this year. I know we have had so much support here in the past, so to be here in that position, I am sure it will be special.”

“But the most important this weekend is to not overdo things, which is easy whenever there is excitement and when things are going well. So we need to stay focused on our job and not try to do too much and hopefully it will be a positive weekend.”

Leclerc is currently leading the drivers’ championship by a mile. Verstappen will undoubtedly be under massive pressure amidst his car reliability issues if the Ferrari superstar registers another win on Sunday.

Additionally, with the sprint race, drivers have more points to bag this weekend. Will Leclerc benefit from that remains to be seen.

Also read: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2022 Weather Forecast: What is the weather forecast at Imola this weekend?

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Charles Leclerc ferrari Max Verstappen Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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