Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have had numerous battles throughout the last two seasons, with the latter managing to come out on top on almost every occasion. As per a recent report by Formule1.nl, F1 expert Nicky Catsburg claimed that Leclerc’s failure to beat Verstappen is due to the Monegasque being too sweet at times.
Talking on the Formula 1 Paddock Club podcast, Catsburg said, “Charles Leclerc is too sweet in some situations.” He then used some examples to back up his claims and said, “In Abu Dhabi, he had two situations like this in the opening phase. Max Verstappen would never have let this happen.”
Catsburg went on to explain that since Leclerc is too polite while driving, he needs to be a bit more aggressive against an opponent like Verstappen. The F1 expert said that Leclerc needs to do what Verstappen always does, which includes maneuvers like braking too late and not making the corner, which will then force the opponent wide, not allowing him to take the corner either.
A few of these similar situations also happened in the Las Vegas GP and the United States GP, where Leclerc let Verstappen pass without putting up a fight. Catsburg used the example of Abu Dhabi and explained that Verstappen might have made the pass either way in the end, but Leclerc putting up a fight and staying ahead for some more time would have made things more interesting.
However, Catsburg acknowledged that the reason why Leclerc perhaps did not push hard against Verstappen in Abu Dhabi was that the Ferrari driver was busy with his own race. He was probably more focused on getting the P2 for Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, and the P4 for himself in the Driver’s standings.
A disappointing 2023 season for Charles Leclerc
The 2022 season had seen some close battles between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen with the former managing to keep up with the Dutchman during the first part of the season. However, a series of pit stop errors, strategy errors, and driver errors meant that Leclerc lost any chance of salvaging the season.
Midway through the season, Red Bull took the upper hand and since then, they have completely dominated the entire grid. The 2023 season saw the Milton Keynes outfit managing to win all races but one, the Singapore GP, which was won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
As for Charles Leclerc, he had another difficult season in 2023, plagued with incredibly bad luck. The bad luck peaked at the Brazilian GP when the Ferrari driver found himself in the wall during the formation lap due to a hydraulics failure. The Monegasque will now hope to have a better campaign in 2024.
