Sky Sports analyst: 'Leclerc has never forgiven Verstappen for that race'

According to Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson, Charles Leclerc has "never forgiven" his rival Max Verstappen for his action at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. The Briton therefore expects an interesting battle between the two drivers in the new season.

Leclerc took his first win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix after a fierce battle with Verstappen on the track. The Dutchman eventually had to park his car in the garage after problems, but it looks like we will see another exciting rivalry in 2022.

Leclerc and Verstappen have known each other since karting, but according to Davidson, the rivalry was fully ignited by the 2019 incident in Austria. Verstappen forced the Ferrari driver off the track here and ran off with the victory. Davidson analyzes the situation.

'Leclerc never forgave him'

"The next lap, however, he pushed him off the track and I don't think Charles has ever forgiven him for that. I think Charles, every time he is with Max now, treats him differently and that's what I immediately saw come into play in Bahrain. Max is going to have to rethink how he races him I think going forward from here. It is going to be interesting,' Davidson says on the website of Sky Sports.

The 2019 incident, where the drivers briefly collided, was further investigated by the stewards. Verstappen didn't receive a penalty for the incident. The victory would have been Leclerc's first in Formula One, but the Monegasque still won his first race in Belgium later that season.