Max Verstappen has a surprisingly stern message for Red Bull after F1 Austrian GP podium finish

× Max Verstappen cut an unsatisfied figure after finishing second at the Austrian Grand Prix, as he told his team that the result could have been even better on Sunday. The Dutchman managed to claim P2 to secure his best result of the 2026 F1 season so far, but was under two seconds behind winner George Russell in the end. Ad Verstappen and Red Bull came into their home race at the Red Bull Ring with high expectations of making a big leap towards the front of the field thanks to major upgrades on the RB22.

And a big leap they did make, as Verstappen matched the pace of the Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, during the race and finished second even after starting from P5. But in the end, what was his best result of the year so far still felt like a missed opportunity for Max Verstappen, who came over the team radio after the race and shared a stern message with his team, saying: Ad Trending "It's a podium, but it could have been better." Max Verstappen was already within two seconds of George Russell just before the latter pitted for a second time.

But Red Bull made the call to keep Verstappen out for a few more laps to get a tire offset on the Mercedes driver, rather than pitting immediately afterwards. This meant that after both Russell and Verstappen came out of the pits for the final time, the former now had a 10-second advantage over the latter. Verstappen managed to bring this down to under two seconds again by the end of the race, but it was just not enough to take the win.

Ad Russell instead claimed a second race win of the year, with Verstappen in second and Kimi Antonelli third, with the top three finishing within three seconds of each other. Max Verstappen reflects on "extremely positive" Austrian GP Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix - Source: Getty Max Verstappen reflected on his P2 finish at the Austrian GP on Sunday, branding the result as "extremely positive". The 4x world champion added that the RB22 also felt good on the whole, barring a few issues in the middle phase of the race.

Ad Speaking in the post-race interview, Verstappen said: "Yeah, I think it was a very good race for us. The first few laps were quite fun. And then it was basically just trying to manage your tires.

Honestly, I think the car was in quite a good window for, I would say, half of the race, and then we just picked up a few issues with the car, which then prevented me from basically finding that nice rhythm. Ad "But still, to be second, that close to a win, I think is extremely positive for us. So, in that sense, for sure.

I'm very happy."This result now moves Max Verstappen to within six points of Charles Leclerc in P6 and Lando Norris in P5 in the Drivers' Standings. Oscar Piastri in P4 is also just one point ahead of the trailing pack, making for a tight battle between the four drivers going forward.

× Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Samyak Sharma Max Verstappen cut an unsatisfied figure after finishing second at the Austrian Grand Prix, as he told his team that the result could have been even better on Sunday. The Dutchman managed to claim P2 to secure his best result of the 2026 F1 season so far, but was under two seconds behind winner George Russell in the end.

Ad Verstappen and Red Bull came into their home race at the Red Bull Ring with high expectations of making a big leap towards the front of the field thanks to major upgrades on the RB22. And a big leap they did make, as Verstappen matched the pace of the Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, during the race and finished second even after starting from P5. But in the end, what was his best result of the year so far still felt like a missed opportunity for Max Verstappen, who came over the team radio after the race and shared a stern message with his team, saying: Ad Trending "It's a podium, but it could have been better."

Max Verstappen was already within two seconds of George Russell just before the latter pitted for a second time. But Red Bull made the call to keep Verstappen out for a few more laps to get a tire offset on the Mercedes driver, rather than pitting immediately afterwards. This meant that after both Russell and Verstappen came out of the pits for the final time, the former now had a 10-second advantage over the latter.

Verstappen managed to bring this down to under two seconds again by the end of the race, but it was just not enough to take the win. Ad Russell instead claimed a second race win of the year, with Verstappen in second and Kimi Antonelli third, with the top three finishing within three seconds of each other. Max Verstappen reflects on "extremely positive" Austrian GP Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix - Source: Getty Max Verstappen reflected on his P2 finish at the Austrian GP on Sunday, branding the result as "extremely positive".

The 4x world champion added that the RB22 also felt good on the whole, barring a few issues