“Thanks Charles for sending me Valtteri's a**”: Zhou Guanyu reacts to Charles Leclerc’s Christmas gift to Alfa Romeo driver
Charles Leclerc has added a dash of humor to the Formula 1 paddock by sending a special Christmas gift to Alfa Romeo driver, Zhou Guanyu.
Leclerc's gift to Guanyu turned out to be a calendar, a common festive token, but with a twist that left the Chinese driver amused.
The calendar featured a series of cheeky butt-naked images of none other than Guanyu's Alfa Romeo colleague, Valtteri Bottas.
Reacting to Leclerc's hilarious gift, Guanyu commented (via @lunevans from X):
"Thanks Charles for sending me Valtteri's a**. Thank you."
Charles Leclerc on Lewis Hamilton's claims of Max Verstappen's car advantage
As Max Verstappen clinched the 2023 F1 World Championship, his third in a row, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was firm with the belief that it was down to the Dutchman's car advantage, the Red Bull RB19.
Charles Leclerc acknowledged his conversation with Hamilton after the Mexican Grand Prix, where the seven-time world champion pointed out specific areas where he believed Verstappen's car held an advantage. Leclerc, however, expressed his difficulty in recognizing such minute differences in technical aspects. He said (via RacingNews365):
"I spoke to Lewis after Mexico, where he told me that he can see exactly where Max's car is better. Maybe that's true for him, but I have to tell you that I can't possibly recognize the details."
"We're talking about differences of millimetres in ground clearance or suspension travel," he added. "You can of course see whether a car has softer or harder suspension and at which points it gains time on you."
The 26-year-old Ferrari driver emphasized the importance of understanding a car's behavior through visual cues rather than focusing solely on technical specifications.
"I prefer to look at the footage from the on-board cameras. You can see from the driver's helmet what the car does and doesn't do on the track."
Speaking about Max Verstappen and Red Bull's performances throughout the season, Charles Leclerc said:
"They've simply done a good job to get to where they are now. I respect that. Now we have to do an equally good job to catch up with them."