Verstappen surprised by British GP podium after early struggles

Max Verstappen reckons he could have come off far worse than second in Sunday’s British Grand Prix after early struggles left the Red Bull driver doubting he could achieve a podium.

The reigning world champion initially struggled with Red Bull's lack of pace compared to Mercedes and McLaren. He was overtaken by both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the dry early stages of the race and found himself facing a potential fifth or sixth-place finish.

However, a series of crucial decisions throughout the race's weather fluctuations saved Verstappen's weekend.

A timely pit stop for intermediate tyres during the second rain shower allowed him to jump back into podium contention.

McLaren's strategic gamble to keep Oscar Piastri out longer backfired, while Mercedes decision to double-stack Lewis Hamilton and George Russell further aided Verstappen's comeback.

Read also:

• British GP: Hamilton victorious in thrilling rain-hit race

“We just didn’t have the pace today,” the Dutchman said after the race.

“I was just steadily dropping back when it mattered in the beginning, so it didn’t look great. At some point I was really thinking, ‘Are we gonna finish fifth, sixth?’

“But, yeah, we made the right calls – direct from the slicks to the inters and also from the inters back to the slicks – I think it was every time the right lap.

“Then also the end – the call from the team to be on the hard tyre instead of the soft was definitely helping me out.

“But we also finished second today, so it could’ve been a lot worse, but we’re making the right calls – we still onto the podium and [I’m] of course very happy with that.”

Verstappen acknowledged the difficulties he faced during the initial rain shower.

“When it started to rain for the first time, of course I was already dropping back, struggling for grip, so I didn’t want to take too many risks,” he said.

“And I saw the guys ahead of me – they were really going for it. So I just tried to hang in there – not going off the track and that’s quite tricky.

The ever-changing track conditions demanded quick decisions and precise tyre management.

“But then at one point it really started to come down and it was quite obvious that you had to go to the inter.

“Then, you had to make the tyre last as long as you could and suddenly alos the sun came out and the track really started to dry out quickly.

“But still, you feel quite comfortable on the inter, but at one point you just have to gamble to go to the slick and luckily it all worked out well.”

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