F1 has returned to Australia after two years and what a time to be in Ricciardo’s home ground. As the first practice session came to an end in Melbourne, fans look forward to an exciting weekend. Apart from the fans, the drivers also look excited for an enthralling battle of supremacy at Albert Park. And one of those drivers is surely Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull racer is all excited about his tussle with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. The duo battled it all out in Bahrain and Jeddah. While Charles won the first one, Max pulled one back to make it one win each.

Talking about an old incident with Sky Germany that involved him and Charles, Max stated, “I think the incident with Charles was in 2012. It‘s a long time ago. Back then, we weren‘t best friends. But now we can laugh about it. Sometimes the karting times were tough, but now that we both are in F1 fighting for wins, that‘s just great.”

The defending F1 champion further stated on this year’s rivalry, “I hope we continue to fight like in Bahrain & Jeddah.”

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When asked about Charles’s strongest point in his driving, Max asserted, “He is always fast. He is very talented, whether he overtakes or defends, he does it well.”

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc go way back

The rivalry and bond, to call it both, have been between the duo for a long time. They know each other since their karting days. Not only they’ve raced each other so many times, and now they can read each other very well. At least that’s what we’ve seen in back-to-back races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

As the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen rivalry seems to be over, a new, sharp rivalry on track is born. A new season, and a new rivalry. As of now, Leclerc leads the driver’s championship, followed by his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen in P3.

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With Albert Park to hold the third race of the season, both Ferrari and Red Bull look stronger than the rest of the grid. Solid performances from the two teams in FP1 have fans anticipating another nail-biting clash between the two youngsters Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.