Leclerc vs Verstappen: dawn of a new rivalry?

Fangio and Moss, Hunt and Lauda, Senna and Prost, Schumacher and Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton, and now Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. This pair look ready to write their names into F1 history. Their talent is unquestioned and for the first time, the both of them are in seemingly championship winning machinery. After the first two rounds of the season, they appear set to define the story of this season. And both at 24 years old, they could dominate the next era as well.

At the first race of the year, a few weeks ago in Bahrain, it was clear by qualifying that Leclerc in his Ferrari and Verstappen at Red Bull were clear of the field. They both had the measure of their teammates Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez respectively.

After Leclerc qualified on pole and Verstappen second, the race came alive on lap 17 as the two went wheel to wheel, exchanging positions for several laps in a row in some of the best racing F1 has seen in years. In the end, Leclerc would take the victory, while Verstappen was cruelly denied major points with a mechanical retirement late on.

A week later in Saudi Arabia we had round two of the fight. In a race fraught with incidents and retirements, the duo eventually made it to the front, and fought for the win in the last ten laps, with Verstappen taking the honours by a ridiculously miniscule half a second.

However, for Leclerc and Verstappen, racing wheel to wheel against each other at the front is not a new thing. For years they raced one another in the karting scene all across Europe. From as early as 2010 they sparred on track. It would culminate in a now viral YouTube video taken back in 2012 after a race where they collided and were later disqualified. Their responses to a pit lane reporter seem eerily familiar to the modern day.

We are set for a titanic battle between two of the most exciting drivers on the grid

Verstappen would enter F1 at the tender age of 17 and would become the sport’s youngest ever winner at just 18. Meanwhile, Leclerc would not get such a lucky break so early, but would win GP3 and F2, before becoming a Ferrari driver in just his second season in F1.

With over seven seasons under his belt, Verstappen has developed into one of the most able and also aggressive drivers. Some love that, and some loathe it. He pushes the limit to its very edge and goes for the smallest of potential gaps. It has made him not popular among some, and earlier in his career, a regular retiree. Yet it is these traits that made him a champion.

Leclerc has less experience but, since his debut in 2018, he has shown more than enough promise to suggest he can fight for a world title. Possibly his best strength is his one lap pace, which has led him to rack up 10 career pole positions. Rather astoundingly, given that he has had a midfield car for half his F1 career, he has been on pole for 12% of the races he has entered.

Back in that first season with Ferrari, he did what all great future champions do, beat a former title winner, and a four-time one at that. Over that year, he had the upper hand over teammate Sebastian Vettel in a competitive car.

Of course, a principal reason it seems the stage is set for a Leclerc-vs-Verstappen match for the title is the shakeup of the teams. Since 2014, Mercedes have crushed the opposition unprecedently, but they appear to have been caught out by this year’s regulations which have radically reformed the design of the cars.

For all the talk of Red Bull losing out this year for developing their car last year, it appears they, and not Mercedes, have aced these new cars. Ferrari also appear to have got the formula right, bringing them back to the front.

The sport needs them near the top, fighting for wins and championships. Their history demands it. After a bitterly disappointing 2020 season, they put all their resources into 2022, focusing on getting this car right. It seems to have paid off.

The result of this shake up is that as we go into Australia this weekend, and with 21 races left, it appears, so far at least, that we are set for a titanic battle between two of the most exciting drivers on the grid. With them both so young too, we may have years of this to come. We can only hope so.