Arthur Leclerc sends his brother Charles Leclerc the song “Pass the Dutchie” before every race in order to beat 2022 title rival Max Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen share a rivalry that goes all the way back to their karting days. The two are of the same age and went head-to-head against each other as both competed to claim the title.
The rivalry was put on ice for a while until the 2019 season. Ahead of the season, Leclerc was promoted to the Ferrari seat and partnered up with Sebastian Vettel.
Verstappen was racing with Red Bull and had proven to be a race winner by then. And with the two drivers in race-winning cars, the rather friendly rivalry resumed between the two.
The duo spared regularly for most of the 2022 season and both competed for the drivers’ championship title. And with both drivers being just 24 years of age, we’ll be seeing more on-track battles in the years to come.
To push his brother Charles a little further, his brother Arthur Leclerc had a certain tradition. In a recent video, Arthur revealed that he used to send the 1982 song “Pass the Dutchie” to his brother religiously before every race.
The ‘Dutchie’ according to Leclerc refers to Verstappen who hails from the Netherlands. Arthur said, “I send this song to Charles before every Grand Prix.”
This is a song by the British-Jamaican band ‘Musical Youth’ from their debut studio album, The Youth of Today. The ‘Dutchie’ in the lyrics refers to a Dutch oven, a type of cooking utensil.
But the humourous lyrics might not have helped Leclerc enough. As Verstappen is set to claim his second championship title in 2022, beating Leclerc by at least 100 points.
How Max Verstappen pipped Charles Leclerc for the 2022 title
The debate between Verstappen and Leclerc grew louder ahead of the season. And with the two going head-to-head, it was set to be decided by the end of the season.
Charles got the early lead in the championship after winning 2 of the first 3 races. The Monegasque led Verstappen by 46 points after the 2022 Australian GP.
And in the races, Verstappen chased Leclerc, eventually surpassing him after the Spanish GP. He has won 11 of the 16 races so far and leads the Driver’s standings by 116 points with 6 races to go.
Leclerc’s season has been marred by strategy errors, reliability issues and blunders. And with such a huge deficit, Max is looking to claim his 2nd title and successfully defend his championship crown.
Theoretically, Max can win the 2022 title at the Singapore GP. If he claims the fastest lap and wins the race, and Leclerc finishes lower than 7th, Max will win the title. And if not, Max just has to claim the following race in Japan and can wrap up the title.
Also Read: Max Verstappen can win 2nd F1 World Championship as soon as 2022 Singapore GP
