"Verstappen is the best driver ever": Fans react to Max Verstappen's overtaking the Mercedes duo at the pitlane exit

F1 fans were impressed by three-time world champion Max Verstappen's overtake on the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the pitlane exit in the FP2 session at the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP.

The Red Bull driver found himself battling the Mercedes duo in the FP2 session itself after he claimed that they blocked him in the pitlane. The Dutchman didn't want to wait around in the shortened session and wanted to get a move on. He decided to overtake both Russell and Hamilton to get on with the remaining part of FP2.

Speaking with Sky Sports after the session, Max Verstappen addressed the incident and said:

"They have to move! They are all driving slowly and I want to go out because we are all limited on time and they keep on driving in the middle. Then I went to pass, they tried to squeeze me in the wall. So a bit silly."

F1 fans took to social media to react, with one claiming that the Dutchman was the "best driver ever", writing:

"Verstappen is the best driver ever"

Here are some more reactions:

Max Verstappen analyzes his FP2 session at the Abu Dhabi GP

Verstappen stated that he wasn't satisfied with the balance of his car during the FP2 session on Friday evening.

All the drivers had limited running during the most important free practice session of the weekend due to two red flags courtesy of Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg.

In his post-practice interview, Max Verstappen, who finished P3 in the session, said:

"From our side, the balance was very off - a lot of understeer, a lot of jumping, so definitely a few things to figure out for tomorrow. I also didn't expect to be so far off, so that's also a bit of a question mark for us. We are still P3, it's not too bad but balance-wise it can be a lot better, so we'll try to look at what to do there."

It will be fascinating to see if the Red Bull driver will make any changes in the sole remaining Free Practice on Saturday afternoon before qualifying. Given the lack of track time in the most representative Free Practice of the weekend, it is unclear if the drivers and their teams have gathered any data ahead of qualifying.