Title duel: The rivalry between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc looks set to define F1 in 2022
(Picture: Getty Images)A clip resurfaced over the weekend of a young Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc being interviewed after a karting race. Verstappen is livid, accusing his rival of driving him off the track, while Leclerc brushes it off as little more than a racing incident.
Fast forward to Jeddah yesterday: the latest duel of two careers that have been intertwined virtually from the outset ended without incident as Verstappen got the jump on Leclerc late on to take the chequered flag.
Shortly after getting out of their cars, there was no ill-feeling, as the pair were seen talking animatedly about what looked like the finer points of their repeated overtaking manoeuvres.
On the evidence of just 107 laps of racing so far this season — first in Bahrain, then Saudi Arabia — it is the rivalry that looks set to define 2022.
It highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of their two cars: the Ferrari far stronger in the first sector but undone by its relative lack of pace on the straights compared to the Red Bulls, which was only exacerbated by DRS.
It was hard racing and smart, too; both drivers showing enough maturity and gifting enough space to avoid contact; Verstappen biding his time after an early overtaking error to finally force a way past, from which Leclerc could not quite get back.
Asked to liken it to other duels — such as the season-long one last year with Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen said: “Every battle is different, but it’s just smart racing and good racing, so you just have to deal with it, adjust to it. It was not easy, but a lot of fun.”
Quite how Verstappen and Hamilton might have fared in a similar situation is anyone’s guess. The Briton finished 10th and is currently a long way away from getting into conversation about titles.
Leclerc was accepting that Verstappen has helped to define him as a driver through the various junior ranks up to today in F1. “We have had some great battles in karting and we have grown up together — and it helped us grow in our own way,” he said.
Both readily admitted they were assisted by the new-for-2022 cars. While there were some question marks about how much the overhaul of the cars had improved the racing in Bahrain, a week on there appears to be no doubt. They were able to closely follow each other, and there was not just evidence of it at the front, but throughout the field.
Another aim of the overhaul was that more drivers and teams would be fighting it out at the front. Had it not been for the misfortune of his pit-stop just before a safety car was deployed, it might have been Sergio Perez, rather than Verstappen, celebrating the win. Plus, Leclerc’s team-mate, Carlos Sainz, was far happier in the car this weekend for a second podium.
Mercedes were meant to be in the reckoning, but there will only be more head scratching ahead of the Australian GP in two weeks’ time.
In Bahrain, George Russell had struggled to match his team-mate’s pace, but yesterday it was the other way around. Worryingly, Mercedes appeared at a loss to explain the disparity at an estimated second a lap off the pace.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remained bullish in the aftermath. He said: “We are not going to rest until we are back in the mix. It’s going to make us stronger in the end.”
The constructors’ champions believe they have the pace if they can overcome their gremlins and unlock the car’s potential. But if that comes too late, the danger is Ferrari and Red Bull will have already disappeared into the distance.
The other issue is the budget cap and how much money even the bigger teams can throw in the developmental race. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said getting development right would “be the game-changer” in the title fight, while Red Bull technical boss Adrian Newey said it was all about “what we bring in and when”.
As for how it plays out in Australia, more of the same is anticipated, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner not unduly concerned that their challenger has shifted.
“Ferrari’s a big team, they’ve been a sleeping giant for a couple of years,” he said. “It was a great race today — good, hard racing between the drivers. If that’s what’s set for the rest of the season, it’s going to be epic.”
