Max Verstappen picks his F1 rival Oscar Piastri as his favorite driver to overtake.
Four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen recently shared his favourite overtaking move since he started racing in 2015. He picked a fairly recent race—the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last year—where he made an amazing pass on Oscar Piastri right at the start of the race.
Verstappen, now 28, had won four of the last five Emilia-Romagna races at Imola before the race was dropped from the F1 calendar. His move during the final race there was one of the most exciting moments. He slipped past Piastri on the outside at the first chicane, leaving a lot of other drivers behind and using his speed to pull ahead from polesitter Piastri right in the first lap.
He led the rest of the somewhat chaotic race, finishing six seconds ahead of Lando Norris, who later overtook Piastri in a similar spot on lap 58. Speaking on the P1 Podcast, Verstappen said, “It’s really hard to pick just one, but the one at Imola after the start is the first that comes to mind. I don’t think anyone expected it. I didn’t even know Oscar would brake so early, so I just went to the right and decided to go for it. I just committed.”
Piastri had braked early in an attempt to defend his position as George Russell in his Mercedes was closing in, but Verstappen took the chance and made his move. That win was Verstappen’s second of the season, which he finished strongly, though Norris kept him off the top spot despite Verstappen reaching the podium in the last 10 races.
Verstappen also talked about the return of the Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao next June, which is coming back six years after it was temporarily added to the calendar during the pandemic. He said, “I’m excited to go back to Portugal. I love the country and the area, and it’s a great track. It can be tough for racing, but a single fast lap there is really beautiful.”
When asked if Portimao will suit how current F1 cars perform, Verstappen said, “Well, these cars don’t really suit any track perfectly—you just have to make the best of it. I hope it will improve over the next few years.”
This weekend, Verstappen and his Red Bull team will race at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was delayed and moved to Malaysia because of the conflict in the Middle East. Interestingly, nine years ago, Verstappen won the last Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
It’s an exciting time with a lot happening on the F1 calendar!