Charles Leclerc admits 'long list of conflicts' that led to hating Max Verstappen

dailystar.co.uk:

Charles Leclerc has admitted there is a 'long list of conflicts' with championship rival Max Verstappen as the pair go head-to-head for the Formula One title this season.Ferrari's Leclerc currently leads the way after the opening five rounds of the season but, having initially held a 40-point lead over the defending champion, his advantage has been cut to 19 points following back-to-back wins for Verstappen in Imola and Miami.

So far in 2022, there has been no sign of a bitter rivalry for the title emerging, like what was witnessed last year between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen but that could change over the course of the season.If high-profile incidents do emerge, it could result in the reignition of a rivalry between Leclerc and Verstappen that has been present since the pair's days in the karting ranks - where Leclerc admits the pair hated each other, which has been shown in a viral clip following a collision between the pair."This video is viral; I've seen it so many times now on social media.

But yeah, they were very good years, for sure. The list [of battles together] is long. In karting, we had a lot of conflicts, really a lot," the Ferrari ace said."We were racing together for like four or five years and every race we were fighting for wins and, obviously, loads of things happened in karting.

We were also young and crazy, and we hated each other, at that moment."Leclerc's rivalry with Verstappen has settled in Formula One, with the pair showing a lot of respect for one another and looking back on those years with a smile, as he added: "We have both realised our dream to be fighting in Formula 1, so the relationship has changed since then.