Max Verstappen outclassed by Yuki Tsunoda as Red Bull ace has engine sabotaged

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Max Verstappen was beaten by Yuki Tsunoda in a unique off-road race hosted by Red Bull ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. The Dutchman has been in a league of his own since the beginning of the current F1 season but was no match for Tsunoda, who managed to beat his rival while racing monster trucks around a fully operational iron mine close to the Spielberg circuit.

The trucks driven by Verstappen and Tsunoda were around three metres tall and five metres long, with their engines producing a massive 500 horsepower. They started off by setting hot laps around the track in the battle to secure pole position, which went Verstappen’s way as the 25-year-old went three seconds quicker than his AlphaTauri counterpart.

Tsunoda ended up having the last laugh, though, as he passed Verstappen for the lead when the race got underway before taking the chequered flag to wrap up an impressive victory. The light-hearted event was not without controversy, though, as Tsunoda later admitted to sabotaging Verstappen’s race by filling his engine with water.

“I had a good start and used my momentum to the end,” explained Tsunoda. “Unfortunately, he had a bit of misfiring. Well, actually I put a bit of water into his engine, but don’t tell anyone!”

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Verstappen took it well, though, as he said: “You did some tweaks before the race and it was unbelievable. You did sabotage my engine!

“I’ve never really done anything properly off-road. I have driven my dad’s rally car, but that was more on the tarmac. Honestly, the approach of my qualifying lap was to survive! It was a lot of fun.”

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It remains to be seen whether Tsunoda will be able to repeat his heroics behind the wheel of an F1 car at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, although it would be foolish to bet against Verstappen given his sheer dominance over the course of this year. The circuit has been a Red Bull stronghold in recent seasons and it would be a major surprise if they fail to claim the honours at the end of the 71-lap contest on Sunday.

Verstappen is currently 69 points ahead of his nearest challenger in the Drivers’ Championship standings and will be looking to record his fifth straight Grand Prix victory in Austria this weekend. Red Bull, meanwhile, have won every single race so far this season and look well-placed to lead one of the most dominant F1 campaigns ever if Verstappen stays firing on all cylinders for the rest of the year.

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