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via Reuters

via Reuters

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is finally over. And it gave us some brilliant moments to cherish. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit has given the audience some great show that they can talk about in the days to come. Coming out of Saudi Arabia, the Max Verstappen – Charles Leclerc duel seems the start of a new hot rivalry and the fans are absolutely loving it.

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Despite such close competition and so many overtakes, respect isn’t lost between the two. After the duo crossed the finishing line, both of them showed thumbs up to each other as a friendly gesture.

Read More: Max Verstappen Achieves an Impeccable Milestone Following His First Saudi Arabian GP Victory

In the video posted by Red Bull Racing’s official Twitter handle, one can see the respect between the two. Moreover, they’ve hailed each other after their fight in Bahrain. All in all, this seems like a new rivalry upcoming for the fans to witness in 2022.

 

How has the rivalry between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc been so far?

What didn’t end in Bahrain has ended in Saudi Arabia. The duel between Charles and Max Verstappen started when they took Pole and P2 in Saturday’s qualification in Bahrain, respectively. From there on to the start of the race, the fight off has been brilliant.

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Unfortunately for Verstappen, he had to back off due to a suspected fuel pump issue in his Red Bull, while Leclerc went on to win the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, the duo squared off again when Charles took the charge of the Grand Prix from Perez after the yellow flag caused by Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.

via Reuters

As the duo approached Lap 42, the tension went high. They pressed each other, pushed each other to the limit, and overtook each other couple of times before one had to take the defeat. The last time it was Charles, but this time in Jeddah, it was Max Verstappen, who took the chequered flag just 0.5 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.

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Watch This Story: From Mick Schumacher’s Horrific Crash To Lewis Hamilton’s Sad Plight Notable Moments From Saudi Arabia F1 Qualifying

Even in the championship battle, the duo is close. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari leads the driver’s championship with 45 points and Max Verstappen is in P3 with 25 points. Had the race been good for Max in Bahrain, they would’ve been closer. As F1 moves to Australia in two weeks’ time, it’ll be interesting to see how Max and Charles bring in another show of sheer brilliance.