Leclerc questions Verstappen’s Ferrari championship claim

Charles Leclerc has questioned Max Verstappen’s claim he would have won the 2024 Formula 1 world championship “even earlier” had he been racing a McLaren or Ferrari, saying it is “a stretch”.

The Red Bull driver made the remark in the hours after he secured this year’s title in Las Vegas last weekend, in the context of Red Bull’s struggles with its RB20 car after its dominant start.

McLaren has provided the most consistent opposition to Red Bull since it massively upgraded its MCL38 car back in May for the Miami race and has dominated several events a similar manner to how Red Bull opened the year.

When asked if he also would have won his fourth straight title in 2024 had he been racing for McLaren, Verstappen replied: “Yes, even earlier, so [I would have been] further ahead. [With the Ferrari], pretty much the same I think. The Mercedes, no. I think that would have been trickier.”

Verstappen’s comments were put to Leclerc when he faced the media in the pre-event press conference ahead of this weekend’s Qatar GP – F1 having decamped from Vegas and travelled across the world for the final two races of the 2024 season in the Middle East.

Leclerc is currently 21 points adrift of Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings behind Verstappen, but both their teams currently lead Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, with Ferrari 24 points back from McLaren with two full GPs left and the Qatar sprint.

Leclerc said that Verstappen “is a very special driver” and “I think what makes him special is also the confidence that he has”, regarding his post-title-clinching comments.

“However, I think it’s very difficult to say something like that not knowing actually what the car is like,” he added.

“He’s an incredible driver, no doubt. Whether he would have made it or not [in the 2024 Ferrari], I don’t know how the Red Bull is, how the McLaren is, and he doesn’t know how the Ferrari is.

“So, it’s maybe a bit of a stretch to say something like that.”