F1 fans ‘can’t understand’ how Max Verstappen beat one driver to 2025 overtake of the year award

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Max Verstappen may not have won the championship, but he did at least come away with one 2025 accolade as he won the overtake of the year award.

The Dutchman claimed eight victories in 2025, the most of any driver, in what was a dramatic turnaround. Verstappen was 104 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri after Zandvoort, but Red Bull’s resurgence put him back in the title picture.

Is Max Verstappen making an excuse for losing out on the 2025 F1 title to Lando Norris?

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The four-time champion won six of the last nine races, but he came up short, losing to Lando Norris by just two points. Verstappen’s first win of the season came at Imola, and it was dominant after making the stunning move that earned him the overtake of the year.

Qualifying second for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix behind Piastri, Verstappen looked to be too far back to make a pass heading into the first chicane. However, he produced an outstanding late braking manoeuvre to pass the McLaren.

Verstappen was compared to Nigel Mansell for the overtake as he blitzed into the distance and to victory. Former Alpine boss Marcin Budkowski said Verstappen made Piastri look like he was driving an F2 car with how he glided around the outside.

F1 fans ‘can’t understand’ how Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc for the 2025 overtake of the year

F1 announced that Verstappen’s pass on Piastri had won the overtake of the year across their socials, much to fans’ confusion. Screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) show that Charles Leclerc was actually ahead in the poll.

The Monegasque driver was nominated for his daring overtake on George Russell at the Dutch GP. Many fans were left baffled by the fact that the Ferrari driver had not won the award.

“Swear Leclerc won the poll???” questioned one fan. Another echoed: “Leclerc’s overtake on Russell was the best of the season…”

One user said: “Then what’s the point of having us vote??” while another replied: “Literally just make up the result next time why even do a poll?”

“It’s a good overtake and fair enough but what was the point of the poll if you’re not gonna actually take the result of the poll,” said another disgruntled fan.

Finally, one user commented: “But Charles won the poll, I don’t understand. It received more than 44% of the votes. And it was already closed when I looked at it. Now I’m confused.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen proved he is Formula 1’s undisputed number one driver in 2025

While he won four consecutive titles between 2021 and 2024, many believe that 2025 was Verstappen’s best season. Had he won the championship, it would have marked the greatest comeback in the sport’s history.

Karun Chandhok says Verstappen is F1’s undisputed number one driver after his 2025 season. It is hard to argue against that opinion as he won the most races and gained 102 points on McLaren from Zandvoort to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The 28-year-old showed his class over the field in several moments in 2025, producing stunning overtakes and incredible race pace in what was, for the most part, an inferior car.

Verstappen’s fastest lap in Las Vegas ‘makes no sense’ in modern F1, as he went seven tenths quicker than the entire field to set the time. It was just one example of the Dutchman’s undeniable quality.