Wary of Wounded Charles Leclerc’s Threat, Max Verstappen Decides to Play It Safe: “It’s a Bit Surprising…”

Although Charles Leclerc started the season brilliantly, Max Verstappen stayed dominant for the remainder of the race. The Monegasque won two of the first three races. However, after the crucial incident at the French Grand Prix, Verstappen overtook Leclerc and dominated the F1 circuits. The Dutchman opted for caution in his response to Charles Leclerc‘s topic during an interview with motorsports.com.

Max Verstappen showed absolute supremacy on the F1 courses this season after securing his maiden championship in a disputed manner. He clinched his second title, which four races remaining. The Dutchman finished first in 15 of the 22 races he competed in, earning 454 points. Considering Verstappen’s driving style and the challenges Ferrari encountered, Red Bull won the constructor’s title, with Charles Leclerc trailing over 150 points behind the Dutch lion.

The double champion warily responded to motorsports.com when quizzed about receiving a closer fight from Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. He stated, ” On the one hand, yes. But if you look at how close the cars were, it’s a bit surprising to have such a big gap, anyway. There weren’t many weekends in which we were really dominant. But I mean, at the end, I’m pretty happy with how everything turned out, especially after the season I had last year [2021]. It’s not always good to have that kind of fight every single year.”

Adding further, citing the upcoming challenges next year, Verstappen said, “And I do think next year, everything will be closer anyway.”

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Many F1 experts and pundits now believe that Verstappen can win three championships as a result of his absolute dominance on the F1 circuits. The Red Bull ace, however, believes their primary adversary will eventually bridge the gap.

Max Verstappen believes the rival can close the gap

After winning his first championship in 2021, Max Verstappen went on an unstoppable run. In fact, he wrapped up the championship with four races remaining. All of these accomplishments have led fans all over the world to believe that the Dutch driver can win his third consecutive championship. He nonetheless thinks that the second season under the new rules might allow their adversary squad an opportunity to bridge the deficit.

During a Channel 4 interview, he spoke about the competition catching up. “I think that’s going to be hard but I do think that we can be very competitive again. I just think that other teams will catch up a bit.”

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It would be fascinating to watch if the Dutchman can maintain his supremacy on the F1 courses. Or if everyone’s predictions about the ‘new era of domination’ were premature.