The 2022 Austrian triumph must still be very fresh in Charles Leclerc’s memory. After all, it was Monegasque’s last win in F1 before Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the rest of the 2022 and now the 2023 season. Ferrari was a different gravy altogether at the Austrian GP back in 2022. Yet, Charles Leclerc surrendered to a puzzling situation just a year after humiliating Max Verstappen. What is this situation?

Over 13 months have passed since Leclerc beat Max Verstappen at Red Bull’s home race. The 25-year-old has been dominating ever since. While many may say it’s down to the car, Sergio Perez is nowhere near the Dutchman’s point tally. This situation begs the question ‘Is it Verstappen who is unstoppable or is Checo underperforming?’ Even Leclerc was left puzzled by this situation as questions about Verstappen’s dominance came up.

When posed with the questions, Leclerc called it an impossible situation to judge as he called Verstappen a great driver but was left puzzled by the wide margin between the teammates. The Monegasque then advised that it is difficult to assess the situation from the outside but advised that it’s a tough task to have the Dutchman as a teammate.

According to it.motorsport.com, Charles Leclerc said, “Personally I think it is impossible to read the situation well from the outside, only within the team they know exactly everything. Sometimes the margin between Max and Checo was higher than I would have expected, but on the other hand Verstappen is an incredible driver and it is probably very difficult to be by his side. But, I repeat, I don’t have the full view of the situation.” [Translated Via Google]

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However, with Max Verstappen being right up there for the GOAT debate, Checo isn’t exactly the benchmark that the Dutchman can be compared to. Lewis Hamilton however is a great benchmark. Charles Leclerc gave his opinion on the same.

Charles Leclerc prefers Max Verstappen’s approach compared to Lewis Hamilton’s

The argument of who is the better driver between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will go on forever, with no conclusive result. On pure stats, Lewis Hamilton will come out top with more championships and wins. However, that doesn’t give the full story. The car and the span of a career among other factors, all that come into play. However, when Charles Leclerc was asked who was a tougher challenger, he picked Verstappen’s approach but advised that Hamilton had his own peculiar style.

Ahead of the Belgian GP, Charles Leclerc said “Both of them, they have completely different driving styles. Max always goes to the limit, I like his approach. He is aggressive and creates spectacular fights.” Talking about Hamilton he said “In the way he positions the car after a corner, for example. He is less aggressive but thinks more. If he doesn’t overtake you in one place, it’s because he’s thinking of an easier one in which to attack!”

What do you Charles Leclerc’s comments about the Max Verstappen and Checo dynamic?

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