General
Leclerc: "Verstappen and I weren't friends in karting at all"
- GPblog.com
For Charles Leclerc, the 2020 season has been quite successful so far. With two podium finishes, the Monegask has nothing to complain about, as the Ferrari has taken a huge step backwards compared to 2019. Leclerc had hoped to fight for the championship with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but that's not in the coming years.
With Verstappen Leclerc already has a long rivalry, which started with karting. "In the nine years that I've been karting, I've always competed against Max. We grew up together with Russell, Ocon, Gasly and Albon. We've ridden against each other a lot," Leclerc explains in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Rivals during karting
Leclerc thinks his rivalry with Verstappen has made for great things. "While karting, you have to learn to surprise your competitors and change your racing style. So I don't think I have a specific driving style either". Leclerc and Verstappen have driven a lot of duels with each other and in the past there have often been collisions between the two drivers.
Leclerc recognizes that a lot has changed in the friendship between him and Verstappen. "When we were young we really hated each other. Luckily we both grew up and became more mature. It's very good to see that we are all racing against each other in Formula 1 now", Leclerc concludes.