Max Verstappen saw only one driver taking the ‘right’ lines when he had to race in the midfield

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Max Verstappen has finished on the podium in 11 of the first 20 races in 2025. In six of the remaining nine, he’s finished in the top six.

Though he crossed the line fifth, Verstappen was demoted to 10th in Spain after a controversial collision with George Russell. But the only race where he was in the midfield on pure pace was Hungary.

On one of his poorest weekends since he won his first world championship, Verstappen qualified eighth and finished ninth. He ended up over 70 seconds off race winner Lando Norris.

Underdogs like Fernando Alonso, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson all beat Verstappen that day.

Max Verstappen says he had ‘no chance’ of passing Gabriel Bortoleto in Hungary

Sauber rookie Bortoleto finished sixth in that race, which remains the best result of his career. He successfully kept Verstappen behind.

Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, Verstappen said he was able to catch other drivers off guard by passing them in the turn five/six chicane. But Bortoleto was the only one taking the ‘right’ line to defend.

This was partly because he’d been practising with the world champion on the simulator in the build-up. The two drivers rehearse wheel-to-wheel scenarios, as well as qualifying.

“I had no chance to pass you,” he told the Brazilian. “You were the only one that was doing the right thing in turn five and six. I kept passing people into the chicane because I kept doing the wide line out of the dirty air.

“But as soon as I got behind you, you knew exactly how to [defend]. We were doing that all the time on the simulator.”

Verstappen told Red Bull to ‘keep an eye’ on Bortoleto even before he reached F1, so he’s a long-term admirer of the 2024 F2 champion.

Max Verstappen names the best qualifiers and racers in Formula 1

In a separate interview with UOL, Verstappen was asked to build his ultimate F1 driver. He picked himself for race starts, setting up the car and overtaking.

While nobody can argue that the Dutchman’s self-confidence is misplaced, he did put two rivals forward in other categories.

Verstappen nominated Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as F1’s best qualifier and said Fernando Alonso, the most experienced driver on the grid, displayed the strongest racecraft.

Carlos Sainz has said Leclerc is the fastest driver over one lap, and he also placed Lando Norris above Verstappen in that category. That’s despite the fact that the reigning champion has scored more poles than anyone else this year (seven).