Max Verstappen felt he could fight for a win for first time this season after Austrian second place

SPIELBERG – Max Verstappen said he finally felt he had a winning car after finishing runner-up at the Austrian Grand Prix on June 28.

The four-time Formula One champion took the chequered flag only 1.6 seconds adrift of winner George Russell, with the Briton’s Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli 0.3sec behind in a tight finish at the Red Bull Ring.

“I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win,” Verstappen said after standing on the Austrian podium for the ninth time in his career.

“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, I think, in the race where I felt really competitive.”

The 28-year-old started fifth on the grid, after crashing in qualifying, but showed the car’s pace in the first half of the race when he went wheel to wheel with old Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton and came off best.

Hamilton, who won the last race in Barcelona, finished fifth, behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

In the second half of the race, the Dutchman said “something felt off on the rear of the car” and it lost pace.

His previous best this season was third in Canada in May and the once-dominant driver is now 98 points adrift of championship leader Antonelli after eight of 22 rounds.

Despite previously questioning his F1 future, unhappy with the sport’s new rules and wanting a more competitive car, he sounded more upbeat.

“It’s been a pretty long road to be here and actually to sit here in the top three and have a real shot at it, that is I think already very positive,” he said.

Team boss Laurent Mekies was similarly excited.

“I think the most satisfying element is the pace,” the Frenchman told Sky Sports.

“For the first time this season, we have the pace to be very, very close to have enough to win.

“We know we will need more because we know the competition will also continue to bring updates, but certainly it’s very impressive that we are now within the last tenths of what is needed to be on the top step of the podium.”

Verstappen’s French teammate Isack Hadjar ended sixth.

Elsewhere on the grid, Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff praised Russell and the Mercedes engineers.

He said Russell had produced a measured and “cold-blooded” performance to claim his second win of the season and seventh of his career.

“Since Q3 yesterday (June 27) until now, it’s been a perfect execution,” said Wolff of the 28-year-old Russell, who also won the 2024 race. “He was quick, managed the tyres well, cold-blooded... I’m really happy for him.

“Less thinking is better because the best race is the quickest race.

“Don’t manage, but make sure you’re not killing the rears. That’s what he did.”

His comments followed much speculation suggesting that Russell was overthinking his approach to racing, while Italian teenager Antonelli jumped in his car and raced with abandon.

Meanwhile, Hamilton lamented his Ferrari’s lack of power and poor tyre performance after finishing two places behind his starting position of third.

“It was a very hard race, a really tough one,” he said.

“Being extremely hot and I didn’t agree with any of my tyres today.

“My start wasn’t really good and my getaway was poor.

“But I was on the attack, passed Charles (Leclerc) and felt it was not too bad on the first few laps – I was holding on for second behind George, but then the rears just dropped off.

“And on every set (of tyres), for some reason the balance was often very difficult.”

He said he was six-tenths of a second down on straight-line speed on June 26.

“We are going to have to push really hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade,” the seven-time world champion said.

His Ferrari teammate Leclerc finished eighth, behind McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris. REUTERS, AFP