F1 fans took to social media on Saturday to post about Max Verstappen’s comeback victory during the Sprint race of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

It was another fantastic duel between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc this season. The two were neck and neck during the Sprint race at Imola on Thursday but it was the Dutchman who came out on top after the 100km dash.

Verstappen, who started the sprint on pole, suffered an early setback off the line as he got off to a poor start. This allowed Leclerc to seize the lead and the Ferrari driver kept a hold of it until the penultimate lap of the race.

Leclerc had opened up a 1.5s lead over Verstappen in 2nd. However, with 5 laps remaining, the reigning world champion came within DRS range and put pressure on the Monegasque.

Eventually, Verstappen got past Leclerc with a clean overtaking manoeuvre on more durable tyres while coming off the main straight on Lap 20. It was the second-last lap of the race but Verstappen managed to pull away and win by a rather comfortable margin of 3 seconds as he crossed the chequered flag.

Verstappen’s win at Saturday’s Sprint also means that he will start the main race on pole position.

P1 in the sprint and some good points for the team 👍 We’re well underway but have to finish it all tomorrow 👊 pic.twitter.com/o07cFBIOKW

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 23, 2022

F1 fans react to Max Verstappen’s pass on Leclerc

Verstappen’s pass on Leclerc was the first time that lead during a sprint race changed during the course of the race. And F1 fans on Twitter were quick to heap praise on Verstapppen’s smart and gutsy move.

Verstappen is maturing. He already won a title

— Alejandro Albono (@WALBON23) April 24, 2022

Let’s go Max, great race, we can do it again tomorrow

— Pietro (@Pietro01545005) April 24, 2022

It clearly shows the pace of both cars. This time Max played his card perfectly right at the end. That gap was 1.6 seconds at one stage. The tires & precision were everything. Even more impressive for Max considering the start of the sprint to make up the time. Game on 4 race.

— Global Travel Adventures (@Wolf_Travels) April 24, 2022

Verstappen-Leclerc Rivalry is solid af. https://t.co/XyJaOrjoR6

— KENvaxia (@kennyzuproc) April 24, 2022

Congratulations to Max Verstappen for Pole and Sprint Victory at Imola in 2022 pic.twitter.com/vvJ2mUiTfX

— Daniyal Toktar (@DaniyalToktar) April 24, 2022

Congratulations on the sprint race. Well maintained on the tyre to catch @Charles_Leclerc. Good luck on race day we shall see if @ScuderiaFerrari will have a better strategy for race day.

— SS (@selz204) April 24, 2022

They’ve been doing this for a while 👶 pic.twitter.com/078fRZdz82

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 23, 2022

So Verstappen and Leclerc have had multiple wheel to wheel battles and all have been clean?

Very interesting, I thought Verstappen was a dangerous and unclean driver…

— Ned (@F1Ned) April 23, 2022

I sincerely hope reliability doesn't rob us of a Verstappen-Leclerc championship battle.

— F24 (@Formula24hrs) April 23, 2022

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