Max Verstappen says he took a more aggressive approach than normal in passing Lewis Hamilton for the lead in Malaysia because he knew the championship leader would not put up a fight.
Verstappen quickly caught polesitter Hamilton in the opening laps and dived down the inside of the opening corner on Turn 4. Hamilton joked to Verstappen in the cool-down room before the ceremony that he "could have closed the door" but, with a championship fight to consider and the chance to open a bigger gap to Sebastian Vettel, opted against doing anything risky.
Verstappen says he knew that and decided to take full advantage.