Adrenaline: A Lestappen Story

𝟎 - 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

It is irreverently true that there cannot be two winners, one of the two must lose.

To be a driver in Formula One it means to master the art of controlling a car to your will, like an extension of your body. Unfortunately, this level of professionalism is not something that is easily gained, it requires a life-long sacrifice. Every single one of the twenty drivers in the grid have been in the field of motorsports since their childhood. A normal childhood is given away for the relentless pursuit of their dreams of a career in the sport. To some, if a goal is morally important enough any method of getting to it is acceptable, being amongst the greatest always comes with cost.

This was no different for Charles Leclerc. A green-eyed Monégasque at age twenty-six, Charles was a talented driver signed with Ferrari and a popular fan favorite, under the nickname of "il predestinato." He was seen as one of the most promising figures of his generation and his future in the major record-breaking Formula One team looked bright. Unfortunately, his dream of winning a world championship wouldn't be as easy to achieve as many would have predicted or hoped; not with the presence of Max Verstappen.

If it is the story of Charles Leclerc that is being told, Max Verstappen was the villain of such. It is part of human nature to find bad in good, to seek answers and motives, even if that means blaming a particular person. To most, the only thing between Charles Leclerc and a world championship trophy was Verstappen.

In fact, Max Verstappen was a villain to almost every driver in Formula One. Infamous, his sole existence meant that whatever chances any of the other drivers hoped to have for a win were slim. A winner of three championships and the youngest driver to ever enter Formula One, to beat him was something most drivers had given up on. Incomparable to any other driver in the grid whenever he was put behind a wheel, his driving was flawless and his pace on track was immaculate. Driving for Red bull since he was only seventeen, he was known for his aggressiveness on track and a quick temper. Having the Dutch driver on your team was a synonym of winning, having him as a rival was the antonym of that.

To assume that the relationship between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc resumed itself to on-track competitions for a title would be to ignore the fact that maybe they were each other's biggest push to be as great as they are. Born just a month apart, the distance between the two was never larger than that through their parallel lives as rivals. In the story of Max Verstappen, the name of Charles Leclerc was read in every page.