Verstappen enjoys: 'Nice to race against the new generation'
F1 News
- Toby McLuskie
Although Max Verstappen has generally had little to endure from his rivals this season, Oscar Piastri came close to the Dutchman at Spa-Francorchamps. Piastri was leading for a short time in the sprint race, until Verstappen passed him on entering Kemmel Straight. In an interview with GPblog Verstappen indicated that he enjoys the battles with the new generation of drivers.
Oscar Piastri is having a strong debut season. The season start was a bit disappointing, mainly due to a poorly performing McLaren, but the rookie seems to have found his rhythm completely. With strong qualifying and race results, Piastri has been competing for points from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards. In the sprint race, the young Australian finished a handsome second behind Max Verstappen, after an early pit stop allowed him to take over the lead from the Dutchman.
Max Verstappen says he enjoys battles like this and is also full of praise for Piastri. "Yes first time. Yeah, it's always good [to race with fresh blood]. I mean I've been in that position as well where you know the younger guy comes in and it's nice and it's great," the Dutchman said. The Red Bull Racing driver further sees the rookie driving a strong weekend. "I think Oscar's having a very strong season in general, but I think also this weekend, he has been really on it. So yeah, that's always nice to for the first time to basically race him".