Just like 2o21, we have another championship battle on our hands this season. Charles Leclerc replaces Lewis Hamilton in the role of number 1 rival for the number 1 driver, Max Verstappen.

However, things are not the same as they were in the previous season. Last year, we saw the aggressive approach from the Red bull protégé in his fight with the seven-time world champion. This year, he is a completely transformed racer with a world title under his belt.

The racing fans have witnessed the on-track wheel-to-wheel action between the cars numbered 1 and 16. Although, they are rivals representing different constructors; they have fought on track with mutual respect. The duo has raced each other since karting days and are familiar with one another’s race craft.

Considering this, the former world champion, Nico Rosberg bet his $30 million Monaco apartment that when push comes to shove, things would turn sour between the childhood mates.

He said “Honestly, that surprises me massively. They have gone wheel-to-wheel so much and so intensely and there has never been a discussion moment or anything. It has been a huge surprise, but I would bet – probably even my house – that it is not going to last the whole season.”

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“The amount of times they go wheel-to-wheel, there must come a moment where there will be some wheel-banging or different opinions on an incident. Let’s see. As a fan, we want to see things heating up a bit more but I am sure we will get that soon.”

The German is no stranger to relationships turning sour in the heat of championship battle. Notably, in 2016, his relationship with his karting buddy, Lewis Hamilton decayed because of the Mercedes pair fighting for the title. Do you think the Verstappen-Leclerc rivalry can go south in the remainder of the 2022 season?

What Max Verstappen thinks of his rivalry with Charles Leclerc

Under these new rules and regulations, the Ferrari and the Red Bull produced the fastest package. This set up the foundation for the emergence of the Verstappen-Leclerc rivalry in the 2022 season.

He said “In karting, it was either me or him and that’s why we hated each other at one point because very often it didn’t end in the best way possible.”

Nevertheless, it is a different ball game for the Dutch driver this season. He opined on his duels with the Ferrari driver by saying “I think that helps a lot for sure, and I’ve known Charles for a longer time because we basically grew up together throughout racing and go karting, and all the way to Formula 1.

“The amount of times I’ve crashed with Charles in the past, but now we can laugh about it, so it just, you know racing drivers, they of course, look at themselves. We want to do everything we can to win a race and I think what is also the positive side about racing is that we can forget very quickly. We’ll just move on and just go to the next.”

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With 12 races remaining in the season, a margin of 38 points separates the two of them. Leclerc has found his voice back in the championship with the win on enemy soil at Austria. While Verstappen is adamant about the pace of his RB18 and feels confident about defending his crown. Who do you see lifting the 2022 title?