Max Verstappen said there is "more respect" between him and title rival Charles Leclerc as he pointed to his poor relationship with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.
While the 2021 title fight descended into near-anarchy at its height, things have been much more cordial this time around. Though, in truth, the situation is helped somewhat by the fact that it is nowhere near as close this year – the defending champion is 80 points clear with nine races to go.
Still, even when things were more tight earlier in the year, Verstappen says he was enjoying the battle a lot more. He told Sky Italia: "I prefer what we have now because first of all, Charles, I know very well. He is a nice guy.
"We are a similar age, I think we are only three weeks apart, and also I think we are fighting a very well respected competitor in terms of Ferrari. The way they go about it, the way we are fighting – if they win a race, we can go to them and say 'well done' and if we win a race, they can come to us and say 'well done'.
"I really respect that and also certain people within the team, and even Mattia [Binotto], I have a really good relationship with him. On Saturday night, we even had a laugh in Paul Ricard and that is great because that is what racing should be about.
"We are hard competitors on the track and will always try to beat each other which I think is very normal, but outside of it, you can have a good time as well. That's what I have really enjoyed about this year."
The reporter followed up by asking if he had missed having a friendly rivalry when battling with Hamilton in 2021. In response, Verstappen suggested that the relationship between himself and the Brit – and the one between Red Bull and Mercedes – will likely not recover.
"Let's say it like this, I would not be on a table on Saturday night having a laugh [with Mercedes]," he added. "The click we have at the moment, just in general, I have a lot of respect for Ferrari and it is nice."
