Charles Leclerc enjoys battling it out with Max Verstappen on the track. The Monegasque driver knows that the Dutchman doesn’t give him any room and that Verstappen always drives to the limit. However, Leclerc has less positive words for the FIA after the weekend in Austin, as he believes the governing body has penalized some of his colleagues’ actions too harshly.
Max Verstappen’s racing style came under scrutiny after the race in Austin. In particular, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was fed up with the Dutchman’s defensive tactics, after his battle with Lando Norris resulted in a five-second time penalty for the McLaren driver. Charles Leclerc, however, defends Verstappen.
“Max always drives on the edge of the regulations. That makes racing with Max exciting and I enjoy it,” Leclerc said during the FIA press conference in Mexico. “You know he never leaves room for you. Fighting with Max is always exciting.”
Not Enough Rules
Although the Monegasque driver enjoys his confrontations with the Red Bull driver, Leclerc also believes that some of the battles in Austin were not judged fairly by the FIA. “I’ve seen a few things in the judgement (of the FIA, ed.) that need to be discussed with the FIA. Some penalties are just too harsh. When I say that, I’m mainly talking about Oscar during the sprint race on Saturday.” The FIA gave Oscar Piastri a five-second penalty after the shortened race because the Australian had pushed Pierre Gasly off the track in turn 12.
When asked whether the regulations actually encourage some of the drivers’ actions, such as late braking, the Ferrari driver remains non-committal. “I think common sense should prevail if drivers do that too much,” says Leclerc. “We still need to have overtaking opportunities, but Austin was a bit extreme. It’s difficult, there won’t be enough rules in the regulations for every situation.
