In Melbourne, a new duel between Verstappen and Leclerc looms

With the return in the form of Ferrari at the start of the year, Max Verstappen found a new rival on the track in the person of Charles Leclerc. Faced with the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton last year, the Batavian has another hell of a candidate facing him who is ready to make life difficult for him.

The first two Grands Prix of the year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia demonstrated this to him. On the tracks of Sakhir and Jeddah, the two childhood friends who became rivals for the world championship of F1 did not give each other any gifts. Result ? A victory for each side and a new duel looming on the horizon this weekend in Australia.

« I hope the car will be better but let's see what lies ahead, says Max Verstappen. The route is different this weekend, so we are going to give it our all. We're constantly trying to improve the car like everyone else and bring in new elements to try to make it faster. So I hope it will be a good weekend for us. But time will tell, it's a little hard to say where we're going to be."

Red Bull and Ferrari on the same level?

Beaten in qualifying in Jeddah, Max Verstappen was able to improve his deficit in the race thanks to the incredible top speed enjoyed by his RB18 where he had not been able to get the better of Charles Leclerc in Bahrain. Enough to predict a new battle from Melbourne this weekend?  

« All tracks are different but if you look at the last two races I would say yes (on a new duel Red Bull-Ferrari) but I don't know at the moment, underlines the Dutchman. Personally I find the Ferrari to be a straight line missile but some people may disagree. It all depends on the fin adjustments you choose. We definitely have good top speed but I wouldn't say we are faster. It's just that we chose to ride with less downforce in Jeddah. That makes things pretty interesting. Now if you can choose different levels of downforce and get the same lap time, that's good for battles. We'll see this weekend again, I have no idea what the others will do compared to us. »

As for the Scuderia, there is no time for panic despite the gap in straight line performance seen in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago. If they are aware of the difference, the Reds do not panic as they approach the 3^e round of the season and hopes to rebalance the levels in the coming weeks.

« I think they had a different level of downforce than us in the last race, recalls Charles Leclerc. By making changes we will take a step forward and then focus on ourselves. We are trying to develop the car. I think we have a few things that look interesting that are going to happen in future Grands Prix. I hope this helps us get back on top but again, we are very, very close. Every little new thing, every little development that we make on the car can make the difference."

Separated by a little more than 2 tenths during the 2 free practice sessions contested this Friday, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc seem set to engage in a new battle in Melbourne demonstrating that they are indeed the two strong men of this start of the season.

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