Leclerc puzzled by Hamilton talk regarding Verstappen's car

Charles Leclerc has admitted that he was left puzzled following a conversation with Lewis Hamilton regarding the behaviour of Max Verstappen's RB19 car.

Verstappen dominated this year's Formula 1 campaign, winning 19 Grands Prix en route to his third World Championship.

One of the Dutchman's many wins came at the Mexico City Grand Prix where he crossed the line ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, who were second and third respectively.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Leclerc revealed that Hamilton told him that he could see where Verstappen's car was stronger simply by following him.

However, the Monegasque driver failed to understand how Hamilton could notice such minute details.

“I spoke to Lewis after Mexico, where he told me that he can see exactly where Max's car is better,” Leclerc said.

“Maybe that's true for him, but I have to tell you that I can't possibly recognise the details.

“We're talking about differences of millimetres in ground clearance or suspension travel. You can of course see whether a car has softer or harder suspension and at which points it gains time on you.

“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.”

'Unfair' to say Verstappen had comfortable year

Verstappen enjoyed one of the most one-sided campaigns in F1 history this year as he was unchallenged on his way to another championship.

The RB19 ended the year with the status of being one of the most dominant cars of all time.

Despite its prowess, Leclerc has asserted that it doesn't mean that Verstappen has had an easy season.

“That would be very unfair,” he said. “Of course he's in a comfortable position today, but he had to put in a lot of work to get there.

“And 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.”