Max Verstappen just grabbed his fourth straight World Championship in Vegas, and he’s not shy about letting everyone know how good he thinks he is.
The Dutch racing star wrapped up the title with two races still to go – pretty impressive considering his Red Bull wasn’t always the fastest car on track this year.
Then he really stirred things up. Verstappen claimed he could’ve won the championship even if he was driving a Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc wasn’t having any of that.
“Max is a very special driver, and his confidence is off the charts,” Leclerc said. “But it’s tough to make claims like that when you’ve never actually driven the car.”
The Ferrari team is still battling it out for the Constructors’ Championship, but neither Leclerc nor his teammate Carlos Sainz gave Verstappen much trouble in the drivers’ race this year.
That honor went to McLaren’s Lando Norris, who emerged as Verstappen’s closest challenger throughout the season.
Leclerc still has a shot at finishing second in the championship standings, though.
“He’s an incredible driver, no doubt about it,” Leclerc added. “But whether he could win in our car? Nobody really knows. He doesn’t know what it’s like to drive a Ferrari, just like I don’t know what his Red Bull feels like.”
The comments have added extra spice to an already heated rivalry between Formula 1’s top teams.
With two races left, we’ll see if Leclerc can back up his words with some strong results – even if the championship is already decided.
