Verstappen played “smart tricks” with DRS to overcome Leclerc

The reigning world champion came out on top of an intense battle with Leclerc to claim his first victory of the season in Jeddah after pulling off a late overtake on the Ferrari driver with four laps to go.

Both drivers tried to work the DRS overtaking zones to their advantage in a game of cat and mouse but Verstappen ultimately prevailed in the enthralling wheel-to-wheel battle to cross the line in first place by just 0.5s. 

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"It was a really tough but a good race. We're battling hard in the front and we just started to play the long game," Verstappen said. 

"They were really quick through corners; we were quick on the straight, but the tyres were wearing out quite quick around here.

"You could see the end I think, we had a little bit more pace, so I just tried to get by. 

"It wasn't easy playing smart tricks in the last corner but eventually I managed to get ahead.

"But then even after that he was constantly in the DRS and then with the yellow flags in the last lap, just knowing how much you should lift, whether it's allowed or not.

“It was tough, but really happy that we finally kickstarted the season.”

Verstappen and Leclerc traded places as they tried to outsmart each other at the final corner, with the duo at one stage both suffering lock ups as they almost came to a complete stop in a bid to ensure they had the DRS boost along the main straight. 

Having been outfoxed by Leclerc during two earlier attempts to snatch the lead, Verstappen demonstrated patience to cleverly tuck up behind the Monegasque’s Ferrari coming out of the final corner and finally make a move stick at the start of Lap 47. 

“It seems like once you get quite close, when you get within half a second, you actually can have a good exit," he explained.

"And I think that makes it a lot more tricky to actually do the pass, let's say in the last corner compared to last year, so it's a lot harder to plan your pass.”