After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen can’t quite figure out how he ended up in second place despite so many problems
Although Max Verstappen was able to finish the Hungarian Grand Prix in second place, the Red Bull driver was quite shocked by this result shortly after the race ended. “I just thought to myself, ‘How on earth did we end up here?’” Verstappen explained at the official press conference.
After all, Red Bull had experienced anything but a positive weekend up to that point. Starting with the first free practice session, Verstappen and his teammate Isack Hadjar complained about the balance of the RB22.
As a result, the four-time world champion could only qualify in sixth place but started from fourth due to grid penalties for Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli.
When asked after the race whether they had been able to fix the balance issues from the free practice sessions, Verstappen replied: “No, they were exactly the same. You can’t change anything after qualifying anyway.”
“So we knew,” Verstappen said, “that it would be difficult. And honestly, it was very difficult. I think, in terms of how I felt in the car and how I had to manage the balance corner by corner, this was one of the most difficult races of the year.”
Nevertheless, Verstappen managed to fight for a podium finish right from the first lap. By Lap 2, the Red Bull driver was already in third place and was able to keep both Ferrari drivers behind him.
After the first pit stops, Verstappen briefly fell behind Lewis Hamilton, but was able to pass the seven-time world champion shortly afterward with a spectacular move in the first corner.
Although championship leader Kimi Antonelli was briefly ahead of Verstappen thanks to his attempt at a one-stop strategy, the Mercedes driver was unable to see that strategy through. Consequently, the 19-year-old had to make a second pit stop, paving the way for the Red Bull driver to take second place. Piastri, meanwhile, had retired due to gearbox problems.
“Overall, I still don’t understand how we ended up in second place,” said the four-time world champion. “But I think we performed very strongly as a team. We achieved more than we would have expected. So when we think about how [the car] felt, that’s obviously positive.”
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies also highlighted this very factor after the race. The 49-year-old praised the strategy department in particular and emphasized: “The execution of the race strategy was really, really strong today.”
For example, during the second stint, the team decided not to react immediately to Hamilton’s pit stop. Instead, the four-time world champion didn’t pit until a few laps later to pick up a set of soft tires.
Verstappen, on the other hand, didn’t use the virtual safety car to get fresh tires, unlike many other drivers. However, Antonelli and Hamilton were holding each other up behind him and were unable to benefit from their fresher tires.
Aside from that, Verstappen emphasized that he noticed damage to his RB22 after the race. All in all, it wasn’t an easy Sunday for the Red Bulls. Hadjar ultimately finished in sixth place.
