Max Verstappen’s recent Duolingo wedding reel captured F1 fans’ imaginations with a comedic twist featuring Charles Leclerc as his tearful best man. The viral video by Duolingo India playfully combined the reigning F1 champion’s name with the app’s mascot Duo, sparking lively reactions within the motorsport community.
In the Instagram reel, Verstappen married Duo, the green owl symbolizing the language-learning platform. The post cleverly used a local language pun where “Ver” translates to groom in Hindi and Marathi, fitting perfectly with Verstappen’s storyline. Red Bull responded humorously, inquiring about the identity of the best man, to which Duolingo later introduced “Lestappen” — a fan-coined nickname blending Leclerc’s and Verstappen’s names — by casting the Ferrari driver as the emotional best man. This creative addition symbolized the longstanding friendship and rivalry between the pair, dating back to their karting days.
The reel showed a teary Charles Leclerc, while the caption teased two potential reasons for his sorrow:
“Why is Charles crying? 1. He has a crush on Max. 2. He’s thinking about Ferrari’s strategy.”
—Duolingo India
The background song playing was from the Bollywood movie “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,” associated with heartbreak and unrequited love, hinting that the first reason was the intended joke. This viral content coincides with a season in which both Verstappen and Leclerc are experiencing challenging performances, as McLaren leads drivers‘ and constructors‘ standings, leaving Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes scrambling for positions behind them.
Challenges Faced by Verstappen and Leclerc at the Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend posed major difficulties for many Formula 1 drivers, including Verstappen and Leclerc, who both faced setbacks that left them visibly frustrated. Leclerc’s race was compromised despite securing pole position due to a chassis problem with Ferrari’s SF-25 beginning around lap 40. His pace deteriorated significantly, culminating in a fourth-place finish.
Reflecting on the event and the upcoming summer break during a post–race interview with F1TV’s Lawrence Barretto, Leclerc candidly expressed his disappointment:
“Very disappointing. I don’t take any positive from this weekend. When we had one opportunity in a year to win a race, we (should) take it, and today, we didn’t.”
—Charles Leclerc, Ferrari Driver
Similarly, Verstappen encountered technical difficulties starting in qualifying, struggling to maintain tire grip and securing only the eighth position on the grid. His race was further hampered by traffic, including prolonged battles within DRS zones and suboptimal air conditions, which resulted in a ninth-place finish. After the race, Verstappen tempered expectations about Red Bull’s chances for victory this season:
“No, not the way things are going right now. That’s just the way it is. It’s clear. There’s nothing I can do about it. I could get angry, but that won’t make the car any faster.”
—Max Verstappen, Red Bull Driver
What Lies Ahead for Verstappen and Leclerc Post-Summer Break
Despite the challenges faced, Verstappen will resume competing after the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 29 to 31 in Zandvoort, marking a significant event for the Dutch driver on home soil. This race offers fresh opportunities for both drivers to improve their standings as the season progresses, amid an intensely competitive battle among Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, and the surprise frontrunner McLaren.
The Duolingo-inspired wedding reel not only entertained fans but also highlighted the underlying narrative of rivalry, camaraderie, and today’s shifting dynamics in F1. While Max Verstappen Duolingo wedding visuals delighted the audience with their humor, the season’s ongoing struggles for Verstappen and Leclerc emphasize the fierce competition and unpredictability defining Formula 1 this year.
