Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen finished this weekend’s British Grand Prix in third place on track, but inherited second position when Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver Nico Rosberg was demoted following a time penalty for a radio ban infringement.
It was a superb performance from the Dutchman from start to finish, who unlike team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, did enjoy some on track action throughout the race.
“I felt like I had great pace today so once the track dried up I just tried to have a go. In the beginning I had a lot of spray so it was hard to see where I was going, especially in the first sector. Once I passed Nico I felt like I was closing on Lewis but then he pitted for slicks. We maybe stayed out one lap too long but in the end the race was great and the car was working really well.”
Verstappen was involved in yet another hard fought battle with Rosberg on track, following on from their recent tussle in Canada, but despite his best efforts the Mercedes just had too much speed for the RB12 to compete with. In what was possibly the pass of the day however, the 18-year-old superbly overtook Rosberg around the outside of Becketts at one point during their fight. A gutsy move, in a growing list of examples that show the star quality of this upcoming driver.
“I had a great battle again with Nico afterwards but as it dried the Mercedes just had too much speed on the straights. I tried to keep up and there was no pressure from behind so I just concentrated on doing my own race.
“I had a few moments in Turn 1 which was a bit tricky so I had to be careful there but I hear a few others also struggled. The move on the outside at Becketts was fun, he was finding the inside so I thought let’s try the outside. It was a risky move for sure. The car had the grip and I had the feeling so it worked well. There’s a bit of run off there anyway so I had room if it went wrong.
“In the end we only finished roughly eight seconds behind so I think that is really positive going forwards and shows we are closing the gap.
It was a fantastic effort from Red Bull and Verstappen, who has proven once again that he has a calm, racing brain on those young shoulders. The team are now in a positive mood ahead of the next round in Hungary, where we visit a track that should favour the strengths of the RB12.
