Max Verstappen admits he 'had to laugh' at his Imola overtake on Piastri

Why Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen confessed he

"had to laugh"

after his stunning overtake on Oscar Piastri at the start in Imola, a move he believes was possible because Piastri was too preoccupied with George Russell.

Verstappen surged around Piastri at the opening chicane to snatch the lead, a move that ultimately secured him his second victory of the season. He suggested that Piastri's focus on Russell, who was running second, left the McLaren driver vulnerable to Verstappen's aggressive move.

"I had to laugh for a moment," Verstappen said when asked about the overtake. "I thought, 'that one was good!'"

He elaborated that Piastri's concern about Russell allowed him to build momentum and execute the pass without Piastri being able to react.

With his Imola win, Verstappen closed the gap to Piastri in the World Championship to 22 points. Looking ahead to the Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen acknowledged that while the Red Bull RB21 has shown strong pace, the title fight remains unpredictable.

"It's not about believing, it's about where you finish in the last race," he stated. "We just keep working every race to be better and improve the situation. So a lot can happen.

"Last year around this time, I said, 'Yeah, we'll win it. No problem. Easy.' But then a lot changed as well, you know. So it's not, for sure, going to be straightforward anyway to the end of the season. But I also know that I think we still have to improve in areas. But that's fine. We'll try to find the improvements."