Verstappen picks favourite moment of 2019 season: "It all came together that day"
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has singled out the Austrian Grand Prix as his favourite moment of the season, with the Dutchman grabbing his first win of the season at his team's home race.
On top of that, it was Honda's first win in Formula 1 since Jenson Button's Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2006. Emotions ran high amongst the Honda crew, who had suffered a lot of adversity in previous years, particularly in their partnership with McLaren.
Max's father Jos Verstappen had also driven at Honda and maintained a very strong relationship with the team, with the former F1 driver present in the paddock and in the middle of the celebrations when his son took the flag at the Red Bull Ring. Max has fond memories of the race back in June.
"In Austria there were so many Dutch fans, the grandstands were orange," the 22-year-old remembers when interviewed by Verstappen.nl.
The race certainly wasn't easy, with the Red Bull driver starting in second but dropping like a stone after a very bad start to the Grand Prix.
"I had that bad start but managed to work my way to the front on a track where overtaking isn’t easy. It was my second win at the Red Bull Ring and the first with Honda. It all came together that day.”
Verstappen's fantastic comeback drive saw him lapping his teammate Pierre Gasly before picking off both Valtteri Bottas as well as Charles Leclerc to take the lead. The overtake on Leclerc for P1 in the final laps was a controversial one as there was contact but the stewards deemed it legal.