Dallara Best Overtaking Manoeuvre winner 2023: Frederik Vesti

There were plenty of contenders across the 14-Round 2023 FIA Formula 2 campaign, but Frederik Vesti was the recipient of the Dallara Best Overtaking Manoeuvre award this year.

The Danish driver’s exploits during the Barcelona Feature Race earned him the plaudits at the official Prize Giving Ceremony in Monaco, recognised for an impressive three-wide pass on Dennis Hauger and Zane Maloney.

After making his mandatory pitstop and switching onto the soft tyres as part of his aggressive alternate strategy, Vesti set about making gains as quickly as possible.

The PREMA Racing driver was quickly onto the back of the MP Motorsport of Hauger, who himself was lining up Rodin Carlin’s Maloney for a pass down into Turn 1.

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It was Vesti though that was the driver in prime position, able to exploit all of the grip he needed to on the soft Pirelli tyres to get a great run out of the final corner onto the main straight.

Flying down the pit straight on Lap 26, Vesti committed to the inside line on the very inside of the track while Hauger moved to occupy the middle of the track, leaving Maloney to defend on the preferred racing line.

With fresher rubber that was a step softer than his rivals, the PREMA driver was daring on the brakes and got his car ahead of both approaching the apex of Turn 1.

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Hauger didn’t give up the fight and stayed alongside Vesti through Turn 2, but with the inside approaching the long sweeping third corner, Vesti sealed seventh position on the road, making two crucial passes in the space of a few hundred metres. It propelled him into a late fightback as he reached fifth place by the end.

“There was some good racing this year and that’s exactly what Formula 2 does the best,” Vesti said as he accepted the award on Sunday night.