MOTOR RACING: Verstappen felt he could fight for a win for first time this season

SPIELBERG, Austria — Max Verstappen said he finally felt he had a race-winning car after finishing second in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

The four-time Formula One champion crossed the line just 1.6 seconds behind winner George Russell of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, while teammate Kimi Antonelli finished a close third, 0.3 seconds further back in a tightly contested finish.

“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 claiming a podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix 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 in the race where I felt really competitive.”

Verstappen started fifth on the grid after a crash in qualifying but quickly showed strong pace in the opening stages. The Dutch driver went wheel-to-wheel with former Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton, coming out ahead in their early battle.

In the second half of the race, Verstappen reported that “something felt off on the rear of the car,” which resulted in a drop in performance and cost valuable pace during the closing laps.

The result marked Verstappen’s best finish of the season, improving on a third-place result in Canada in May. The driver now sits 98 points behind championship leader Antonelli after eight of 22 rounds.

Despite previous uncertainty about future plans in Formula One amid concerns over regulations and competitiveness, Verstappen appeared more positive following the strong result.

“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 already very positive,” Verstappen said.

Team principal Laurent Mekies praised the performance and progress shown by the team.

“I think the most satisfying element is the pace,” Mekies said. “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 the competition will continue to bring updates, but 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.”

Isack Hadjar completed the race in sixth place, adding valuable points in a competitive midfield battle. -Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Toby Davis/Reuters