The current battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc is so far being of a completely different nature than last year's title battle. However, Verstappen believes that things can still change by the end of the season.
The current battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc is so far being of a completely different nature than last year's title battle. However, Verstappen believes that things can still change by the end of the season.
There seems to be much more respect for each other than there was in the battle with Lewis Hamilton, where the atmosphere between the two rivals and their teams quickly turned grim. "We have a lot of respect for each other. If the other has done a good job, of course, you can say that," the reigning world champion told the in an interview.
Gloomy atmosphere in 2021 was due to the behavior of the team bosses
The gloomy atmosphere last year was largely due to the behavior of team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, between whom a real psychological warfare raged. "It was not only between the drivers, but also between the two teams," clarified the Dutchman, who admits that the teams contributed a lot to the escalation of the conflict between the rivals last year.
Although the current rivals still get along well, the Dutchman points out that the fight between him and Leclerc is not yet at its peak. "If it comes to something like point-to-point, maybe it will be a little bit different. We'll see, maybe at the end of the year," Verstappen concluded with a smile.