Max Verstappen showing 'respect' to Charles Leclerc that he didn't to Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen has been praised for being "very respectful" towards rival Charles Leclerc - a season on from coming out on top in a very different battle with Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen beat Leclerc in a brilliant tussle at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday and ex-Formula One driver Karun Chandhok believes the race for first place was conducted in a very different manner to much of last season.

Verstappen claimed his first victory of the 2022 season for Red Bull by overtaking Ferrari's Leclerc with just four laps to go in Jeddah. The two young drivers went wheel-to-wheel at times in a cat-and-mouse contest at the front before the Dutchman eventually got the better of his rival to take the chequered flag.

Both Verstappen and Leclerc, who won the season-opener in Bahrain, are 24 years old and have known each other - and raced each other - for a long time. After the race finished, the two competitors embraced in the pit lane to show that there is clearly a lot of respect between them.

That dynamic comes as a stark contrast to last year's title race, when Verstappen and Hamilton - and their respective teams - frequently became involved in spats, both on and off the track. Four months ago that was particularly memorable at the inaugural race in Jeddah, when the feud between the two arguably reached its low, with bad blood obvious in several aggressive overtakes on the track.

JUST IN: FIA under the scope again as Carlos Sainz slams at Masi replacement

Watching the Saudi Arabian GP, Indian driver Chandhok, who used to compete in F1 for Hispania Racing, was struck by the difference in style this season. "We saw a fantastic race in Bahrain but I think last night (Sunday) took it to a new level," he told Sky Sports.

"They