The Monegasque expects that Charles Leclerc’s duel for the Bahrain Grand Prix championship with Max Verstappen will last the remainder of 2022.

After a tense battle for the top in last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix with Max Verstappen, racing driver Charles Leclerc claims he wants more fights like that throughout the season.

On two consecutive laps, Verstappen overtook Leclerc at Turn 1 in Sakhir, however, Leclerc reclaimed the position at Turn 4 on both occasions, before settling into a lead he would retain for the rest of the race.

“It definitely felt very nice,” Leclerc told media of his duel with Verstappen.

“I was also in a pretty cold state in my battery, so I couldn’t use any extra power to defend on the main straight, and I wanted to have the power for the second straight to overtake him back, so it wasn’t an easy situation to manage.

“But I think we managed as a team in the best way possible, and also did a good job to get the DRS on the second straight, which eventually helped me to [retake] the lead, which was very important for the rest of the race.”

The new restrictions are “absolutely clear” to Leclerc

The FIA has proposed clearer and more consistent restrictions on track limits and mid-race incidents for 2022, leading Leclerc to recall a duel he had with Verstappen at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, when the Dutch driver drove Leclerc off the circuit while passing him for the race lead.

“In Austria 2019, I got a bit angry at this race, because it wasn’t completely clear what we were allowed to do [in terms of track limits],” said Leclerc.

“Now it is clear what we can do, and I think that’s exactly what we want as drivers, and I want hard racing.

“The way we raced in Bahrain was nice, and I’m really looking forward to a fight throughout the whole year.

“If we are as close as we were in Bahrain for the rest of the season, then it will be great to have fights like these at every race.”

In Bahrain, Leclerc was followed home by driver Carlos Sainz, while Verstappen retired with a fuel pressure problem close before the end.

Despite his lack of a score, is Verstappen still the main threat?

Despite the fact that Verstappen did not score last time out, Leclerc has no doubts about the strength of the Red Bull team this year.

“Max and Red Bull seem to be extremely strong, and as soon as they fix the small issues they had in Bahrain, they will probably be the biggest threat,” added Leclerc.

“But that doesn’t mean that Carlos is less strong than Max. I’m just saying, as an overall standing, I think Red Bull should be very, very strong.”

In the Drivers’ rankings, Leclerc leads Sainz by eight points, with the quickest lap in Bahrain.

For Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he will start second, with Verstappen in fourth.

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