Max Verstappen’s rookie season was filled with moments of brilliance. One such instance was an overtake on a Sauber at the Belgian GP which left him in crosshair with Helmut Marko. The Red Bull Racing driver later admitted that he would never make a similar attempt again.
Verstappen made that move on Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr in Blanchimont during the race at Spa-Francorchamps. While trying out the track in iRacing he said, “That was more for fun that we tried it on the simulator with the F1 cars at the time. To see what kind of angles you could overtake.”
Max on his 2015 Blanchimont overtake: We tried it on the sim. When I went for the move in real life, the car was moving around more. Helmut told me, “Never do that again”. I was like, “I passed him”. Now I understand why. I was 17 still, and I was like, “I go for it”. Probably I wouldn’t do it now.
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Verstappen suggested that he only made that move because he was in his rookie year, and was just 17. “I was like, ‘ I’m going for it’ I probably wouldn’t do it now. It’s not worth the risk of doing it.”
If the cars touched each other at Blanchimont, it would have resulted in a crash and it was something Verstappen was aware of. The Dutchman could have passed Nasr easily in the next corner, but he still overtook him there just to show everyone that it was possible.
Verstappen’s car had a higher top speed but with lower levels of downforce. Hence, the overtake was even more difficult than when it was practiced on the simulator. Marko was furious and ordered him to never attempt something similar again.
This aggression which was on display at the 2015 Belgian GP was Verstappen’s identity early on in his career. However, he has toned things down now and chooses to play it safe.
Verstappen still shows signs of his aggressive past
After coming out on top in a heated battle for the 2021 World Championship, the Dutchman toned down his on-track aggression. But when put under pressure, he continued to make audacious moves.
In Hungary earlier this year, Verstappen – frustrated with a struggling car – tried to overtake Lewis Hamilton down the inside of turn one, which resulted in contact and his car getting launched in the air.
In Austria meanwhile, he was battling with Lando Norris for the lead when his aggressive defensive maneuver resulted in both cars colliding.
