Leclerc: Verstappen for fun, Hamilton for points

Charles Leclerc says he gets the most enjoyment from battling Max Verstappen, but Lewis Hamilton is the best for scoring points.

Leclerc stepped up to the second Ferrari seat in 2019 and gave us a glimpse of the future by taking it to both Verstappen and Hamilton at various points in the season.

Arguably the pinnacle was in Austria where Leclerc and Verstappen, rather forcefully, battled for the race win with Verstappen coming out on top.

Leclerc later in the year was forced to defend against Lewis Hamilton in Monza before going on to win Ferrari’s home race.

When it comes to the on-track battles, Leclerc says he enjoys the rough scraps with Red Bull’s Verstappen, but if he wants to make sure he finishes, then he would rather go up against six-time World Champion Hamilton.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ latest vodcast, Leclerc said: “If I want to make sure I’m finishing the race probably Lewis! But for fun and close racing, I probably choose Max, because I know it is always exciting to fight against Max.

“Very little space is given away, but I think that’s what we all enjoy in this sport. Sometimes we go over the limit and sometimes it is exactly on the limit, but in reality I like to race against him.”

Leclerc believes Hamilton is smarter in his battles than Verstappen, using his experience to maximum effect.

“Lewis drives something different. He is extremely smart and I always learn a lot when I duel with Lewis,” he explained.

“Because of his experience, he always knows exactly what your next action is, and that makes him so strong in the duels on the track. He is not very aggressive, always very correct, but he always anticipates very well what you will do.”

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