Charles Leclerc issued a frank admission about his previous opinion of Max Verstappen, and gave his thoughts on potentially being teammates with him in the future.
The Monegasque driver and his Dutch counterpart have enjoyed – or endured – some heated rivalry on occasions in the past, dating all the way back to their days in go-karting.
Verstappen also faced off with Leclerc in the 2022 season, seeing off the Ferrari driver to take a second Drivers’ Championship.
With a further two titles now under his belt, Verstappen is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of his generation, and for the second summer in a row, is at the centre of speculation about his career path.
Having been rumoured to join Mercedes last year, this summer has seen ongoing paddock chatter about a potential switch to McLaren.
But with Leclerc tied down to a long-term contract with the Scuderia, and with Lewis Hamilton finding form in the second seat, a move to Ferrari would naturally be a closed shop to Verstappen.
If a union between Verstappen and Leclerc were to happen, however, it would be safe to say that it would be more harmonious than it may have been had it taken place several years before.
“Our relationship has matured over the years,” he told Sky Italy. I was convinced he was a bad person and he thought the same of me. But now, our relationship has changed.”
‘Let’s just enjoy Lewis for now’
Leclerc has had a wealth of experience when it comes to being paired with talented wheelsmiths in his F1 career, none more so on paper than Hamilton.
For this season, Leclerc was not perturbed by the hypothesis of being in the same car as Verstappen, but concluded that he is enjoying his time with the seven-time World Champion in the Maranello-based squad.
“He’s [Verstappen] an exceptional driver who’s won four World Championships, but fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to have some brilliant teammates,” he said.
“Hamilton, [Sebastian] Vettel, [Carlos] Sainz, so it wouldn’t worry me if it were to happen one day.
“It would also be a great story because we started out together in 2010 and raced through all the karting categories together.
“Having him at Ferrari? Let’s just enjoy Lewis for now.”
With Leclerc having taken a first victory in over a year at Silverstone, and with Ferrari looking stronger than it has in years, Leclerc would be hoping for a realistic goal of dethroning Verstappen in front of his home crowd in Holland, where F1 returns in just two weeks’ time.
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