Max Verstappen responds to whether he was nervous about losing his race win to Charles Leclerc because he did not stop during the VSC

Max Verstappen was one of the drivers who did not pit under the virtual safety car during the 2023 F1 Austrian GP. The Dutchman continued to stay out and follow his regular strategy. Despite that, he was able to comfortably win the race and even grab the fastest lap at the end.

Explaining the decision in the post-race drivers' press conference, Verstappen stated how these calculations and decisions were already discussed before the race, but at that particular moment, he and his team came to the conclusion to stay out since the life of his medium tires was good enough.

Moreover, due to his unprecedented race pace advantage, he was not too worried about other drivers leading and winning the race.

"We just stick to our plan. I mean, you have these calculations before, if there's a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety Car. And for us, it made sense to just go because I think we had good tire life. Already, the few laps before the VSC came out, I was definitely pulling even more of a gap over as every single lap. That's why I wasn't really worried about it. I just completed my stint that I had to do on the medium," Verstappen said.

Although Max Verstappen understood that the hard tires were not as good as the mediums, he continued to complete his stint.

Due to the tire advantage and having a better pace in general, he was able to overtake both Ferrari drivers and lead once again.

"And then, when I came out on the hard tire, I immediately felt that tire was not the better tire, but you have to complete a stint on it. I mean, the soft was not going to last, so once I got past Carlos, I just...yeah. The way you manage your stint, I was just naturally closing in on Charles because of my tire life advantage and probably also just a general pace advantage. So yeah, just step by step, catching-up," Verstappen added.

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Max Verstappen feels his battle with Charles Leclerc was unfair

Max Verstappen recently explained how his battle with Charles Leclerc for the lead of the race was a bit unfair, not for him but for the Ferrari driver.

During the race, Verstappen pitted for hard tires and had to chase Leclerc for the lead. The Dutchman explained how the massive pace difference and new tire greatly tilted the advantage to his side.

"Yeah, I mean, it was good but also a little bit unfair. The tyre advantage I had as well and also the general pace advantage. But yeah, I mean, of course, Charles, he knows how to race. You could see that also last year, right, around here. But we were clearly just a bit faster today," Verstappen said.

Despite losing the lead, Charles Leclerc had a great race as he finished second in the Austrian GP.