Verstappen Explains Controversial Lap One Overtake On Leclerc
F1
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen extended his record for most wins in a season as he won his 18th race of the season at Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
Max Verstappen won the sixth consecutive race during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix after starting from the second position on the grid.
The Dutchman qualified in third position but moved up to second after Carlos Sainz's penalty was applied. Starting alongside Charles Leclerc, Verstappen fancied his chances to get into the lead in turn one.
The three-time World Champion was starting a few meters back but had the inside line and a better start. As the two drivers went to turn into the corner, Verstappen locked up and took Leclerc with him outside of the track limits but kept the position. He explained after the race:
"It was a tough one, I tried to go for it at the start. I think we both braked quite late and then I just ran out of grip. We ended up a bit wide so the stewards gave me a penalty for that. That put us a little bit on the back foot."
The Dutchman got awarded a five-second penalty for the overtake on the Ferrari driver but was lucky that the safety car got deployed after his collision with Russell, so he eventually recovered the lost time.
"I had to pass quite a few cars and of course [there was] the Safety Car again. So at that point already there was a lot going on in the race."
Verstappen then fought his way up the grid and overtook his teammate Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc to take the lead of the race. He said the DRS helped him a lot:
"I had to pass few cars to get into the battle with them [Leclerc and Sergio Perez]. But then you could clearly see with the DRS around here it was very powerful."
On the other hand, the DRS also worked against Verstappen as Leclerc was able to hold on to him for a few laps even after he got overtaken. The Dutchman concluded the race was "definitely a lot of fun."
"Even when you take the lead, if the guy behind would stay in the DRS, he would still have an opportunity to come back at you which I think created quite a lot of good racing here. So it was definitely a lot of fun."
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