Charles Leclerc claims he will “play with the rules” like Max Verstappen

Charles Leclerc is confident he’s capable of ‘playing with the rules’ in wheel-to-wheel combat, similar to how Max Verstappen did during the 2024 F1 season.

Verstappen’s racecraft came under great scrutiny during the second half of last year.

The Dutchman escaped punishment for his robust defence against Lando Norris at the United States Grand Prix.

While Verstappen’s defence was aggressive, it didn’t quite contravene the FIA’s ruling.

However, in Mexico, Verstappen picked up two 10-second time penalties for incidents with Norris.

Verstappen’s defending has led to an adjustment of the racing code, which is expected to fully come into play this season.

Speaking to RN365, Leclerc admitted he’s prepared to take “risks” as Verstappen did if needed.

“You've got to pick your battles, and I feel like Max knows how to adapt to different situations, and we've seen it,” Leclerc said.

“There were moments where he was not aggressive, but when the end of the season arrived, and Lando was coming back there, you could see him play with the rules a lot more, and I feel like I've got that in me.

“I know that whenever big things will be at stake, when it will be the moment to take those risks with the right people, I'll go for it.”

Leclerc relishes Verstappen duels

While Leclerc’s battles with Verstappen have been few and far between over the past couple of years given Red Bull’s superiority, the Ferrari driver feels it’s “always more exciting” racing the four-time world champion.

Leclerc and Verstappen famously went head-to-head in the opening part of the 2022 campaign, with two brilliant battles in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

They also locked horns on a number of occasions during Leclerc's first year with Ferrari in 2019, notably in Austria, where Verstappen came out on top.

“But that's also why I've always enjoyed racing with Max, the mentality of the driver is a big part,” Leclerc added.

“We've known each other for a long time, and so it is always more exciting when we're fighting together.

“Unfortunately, because at the beginning of the season, he had quite a dominant car and we were not in the fight with him. He had no reason to be aggressive with us in some kinds of ways, and then we were playing catch-up.

“By the time we were competitive, there was Lando in-between, so he never really saw us as a direct competitor, so, there weren't these fights.”