Charles Leclerc shares the unseen toil of racing Max Verstappen with Jolyon Palmer after ‘tiring’ Belgian Grand Prix

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Charles Leclerc was relieved when he crossed the line to hold onto his podium at the Belgian Grand Prix, having been under pressure from Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari driver lined up in third on the grid, but the start of the Belgian GP was delayed due to heavy rainfall.

Leclerc had Verstappen on his tail during the start when they were all on Intermediate tyres, and had to withstand battles for position from the four-time World Champion.

When they switched to dry tyres, Verstappen was hamstrung after Red Bull had set up his car specifically for a wet race, which impacted his top speed compared to when he won the Sprint race.

After crossing the line separated by just 1.5 seconds from Verstappen, Jolyon Palmer revealed what he told him about the strain he was put under battling the Dutchman when speaking on F1 TV.

Charles Leclerc tells Jolyon Palmer about physical strain of battling Max Verstappen

Verstappen is known for being one of the toughest drivers on the grid to battle, with Leclerc keen to get a result for Ferrari after struggling.

Ferrari brought a new upgrade package to Spa Francorchamps and were keen to vindicate it, but it didn’t stop Leclerc from going through the physical and mental strain of battling Verstappen.

“I said to him after the race that it must be mentally tiring having Max Verstappen behind you all race, and he said: ‘Yeah, and physically!’

“I think it’s easy to underestimate the skill of having to do that lap after lap with someone as good as Max behind, you would be tired.”

Damon Hill thinks Lewis Hamilton is dealing with ‘alien’ problem at Ferrari

Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton had finished the race in seventh place after struggling for most of the weekend.

Hamilton had dropped out of qualifying for the Sprint race early due to a spin, then failed to make progress on Saturday.

Then a track limits penalty sent him out in Q1 during qualifying for the Grand Prix, with Ferrari electing to start him from the pits due to changing his engine components.

Despite his struggles, Damon Hill believes Hamilton needs more time to bed himself into Ferrari and expects his results to improve once he understands their car’s characteristics and race execution.