Charles Leclerc has opened up on his infamous 2012 karting ‘inchident‘ with Max Verstappen that caused both drivers to get disqualified. Although a decade has passed since that incident took place, the Monegasque said that he’ll remember it all his life.
The Ferrari driver provided his side of the story in a conversation with Ziggo Sport last year after he was asked to explain about the karting incident when he took out Verstappen despite the chequered flag being out. Speaking of it, Leclerc said,
“I will remember it all my life. It was a double right-hander at Val d’Argenton. I look at him & go like this. He was watching me. We touched a little bit. He took the wet white line and went straight. And there was a huge puddle…and he ended up in that puddle. He was really wet”.
Leclerc and Verstappen’s 2012 karting incident was a historic moment
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s 2012 karting incident was a historic moment as it laid the foundation of one of F1’s biggest rivalries that is likely to continue for many years to come. Each time the two drivers have a collision on track, fans recollect this epic moment, where this rivalry all started.
The 2012 karting incident took place in the second round of the WSK Euro Series. Following the collision, Verstappen blamed Leclerc entirely for it as he said then,
“No, he is just unfair. I am leading. He wants to pass and he pushes me. And I push him back and after that, he pushes me off the track. It is not fair“.
Following this heated incident, both Leclerc and Verstappen were disqualified from the race.
Charles Leclerc once revealed he hated Max Verstappen
Even though Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have shown each other tremendous respect recently, it was not like this always. In an interview in September 2021 with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Leclerc was asked who did he dislike more between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen.
The Monegasque replied that he does not have any ‘allergy‘ to any of them. He explained that he didn’t like Verstappen during their karting days as they fought each other fiercely at the time. Leclerc believes that times are different recently.
He stated in the interview that his goal for the future was to reach the bar set by both Hamilton and Verstappen in the 2021 season. 2021 was a historic year for Verstappen as he won his maiden championship by beating seven-time world champion Hamilton.
