Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says it was satisfying to finally be in the hunt for victory at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix, as he detailed the car issues that prevented him from taking the fight to winner George Russell.
In a heavily revised Red Bull RB22, Verstappen and his team cut a much more competitive figure at the team’s home race in Austria, with the four-time world champion on course to qualify second or third behind polesitter Russell until a crash in the penultimate corner kept him in fifth.
But Verstappen rebounded in the race to take the fight to the leading Mercedes cars. After clearing Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in an extended wheel-to-wheel battle, Verstappen was able to put pressure on Russell, prompting the Briton to expedite his final pitstop to avoid being undercut by Red Bull.
Verstappen delayed his final stop to build a tyre advantage, but lost too much time doing so to mount a real challenge at the end of the 71-lap race.
Handling issues with the rear axle of his car further played a part in not being able to fully push for his first win of the season, though the Dutchman was still pleased to take his best result of 2026 and his second podium of the campaign.
“What was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win,” Verstappen said.
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“In the first half of the race we were more competitive, because for whatever reason in the second half something felt off on the rear of the car. Everything was just extremely difficult from bumps, kerbs, traction – it was just completely gone.
“That’s a bit of a shame, but to be that close to a win I think is a great effort from the team. They have worked really hard to get these upgrades on the car here and this is the first time in the race where I felt really competitive and I could push a bit more.”
At the time Verstappen told his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on the radio that staying out longer before his final pitstop was “not the right call”, and in hindsight he hadn’t changed his mind.
“I do think I had the degradation [advantage] over George, but I also knew it was going to be a very long stint to the end,” he explained.
“I personally felt that during the laps I stayed out I probably lost a little bit too much compared to what I gained back from those extra laps on new tyres.
“But it’s easy to say now. We still had a very good race to be honest. It’s been a pretty long road to be here [on the podium] and have a real shot at it. That is already [positive].”
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