In what has been a rarity this season, Max Verstappen has faced defeat to team-mate Sergio Perez, after the Mexican won Formula 1’s official ‘Overtake of the Month’ award.
Perez won the award for July following his overtake on Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which promoted him into third.
The Mexican put on a fine recovery display at the Hungaroring having qualified ninth, with him ending up finishing the race in P3 behind Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Perez beat Verstappen to the award – which is decided by fan votes – despite the reigning World Champion having completed a stunning overtake on Charles Leclerc at the Belgian Grand Prix.
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Verstappen swept past Leclerc around the outside of Les Combes at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the summer break, with the move having promoted the Dutchman into second.
Given his dominance, it shouldn’t come as a shock to hear that the two-time World Champion hasn’t won the fan award this season.
The 25-year-old has done little overtaking this year due to his superiority, which has seen him claim 10 wins from the opening 12 races.
He’s currently on a run of eight consecutive victories ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, where he’s expected to extend his winning streak to nine races.
Due to Verstappen being in a league of his own, he’s built a 125-point lead over Perez in the Drivers’ Championship.
Nobody seems to have the pace to defeat Verstappen, who hasn’t lost a race since Perez won at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix back in April.
With him leading the standings so comfortably, Verstappen could seal his third consecutive title very soon.
Winning the ‘Overtake of the Month’ award should give Perez some confidence to try and push Verstappen a bit harder, something he was able to do somewhat in Belgium.
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Perez is the third different winner of the award this season, joining Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen.
Alonso has won the award three times already this season, having pulled off the best overtake in March, April and June.
Magnussen, though, collected the accolade in May, following an overtake on Logan Sargeant at the Monaco Grand Prix.