'I could have kept Russell behind' - Verstappen says strategy denied him chance of win

Max Verstappen was within two seconds of victory at the Austrian Grand Prix despite starting fight and being involved in some early battles; Red Bull strategy may have been difference between winning and finishing second for Verstappen at the team's home event

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>Max Verstappen has suggested Red Bull missed an opportunity to beat George Russell in Austria and win their first race of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

>After an early fight with Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen found himself just one second behind Russell before the final pit stop phase in the battle for the lead in Sunday's race.

>However, Mercedes pitted Russell first with 28 laps remaining, which forced Red Bull to extend Verstappen's stint, before he pitted with 22 laps to go to have a tyre advantage for the last stint.

>Verstappen had an 11-second deficit after his final pit stop but ultimately finished 1.6 seconds behind Russell.

>Asked by Sky Sports F1 if Red Bull should have pitted first to undercut Russell, Verstappen said: "In hindsight, it's easier to say that but we will look back at it.

>"It was still going to be a long stint on the tyres, but at the same time, my degradation was a bit better than George, so I'm pretty confident I could have kept him behind.

>"It's still a very good result after quite some tough times, lately being better, now for the first time fighting for a win. That's a good step."

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>Red Bull brought a major upgrade package to their car and it seems to have made an immediate difference to the car's performance.

>Prior to Sunday, Verstappen had just one podium - a third place at the Canadian Grand Prix - and was often a long way off the raw pace of pace-setters Mercedes.

>"This has definitely been really good for us. I hope next week [at Silverstone] it's similar but it's a very different track layout," he said.

>"Also battery management, we need to wait see what we can do there, so we will go at it weekend after weekend."

>Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok

“I think there are a couple of what ifs in Max Verstappen’s weekend – what if he didn’t crash in qualifying and completed that lap without any damage? He probably would have started third on the grid and challenged for the victory much more.

“And what if they did something on that final stint? They ended up doing the same strategy as George Russell, despite having more tyres available. I wonder, for me, if they extended that final stint by those six laps, put the medium tyre on, or pit earlier.

“They took the pressure away from George. He ramped it down to 1.2 seconds, was on his gearbox, piling the pressure on George, then gave him that reprieve by extending that stint and the gap went to 10.5 seconds.

“It allowed George to get the tyres and battery, everything in a happier place for the last stint of the race. I think he could have got him there.”

>It was widely expected that Red Bull's power unit would be their weakness coming into the season as they have built their own power unit for the first time, in collaboration with Ford.

>However, it has been the chassis and aerodynamics of the RB22 which has been the biggest issue, with Verstappen unhappy about the car's balance and a general lack of grip.

>Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies admits their Austria upgrade was "a step in the right direction".

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>"The most satisfying element was the pace. For the first time this season, we had the pace to be very close to have enough to win so a big credit to everyone back in Milton Keynes," he told Sky Sports F1.

>"It's not something that happens very often, that you can find more than one second of pace in a few races, and the season is very long.

>"We know we need more as our competition will continue to bring updates, but certainly it's very impressive we are now within the last tenths needed to be on top of the podium."

>Next up in the 2026 Formula 1 season is the big one, a Sprint weekend at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix - live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One with coverage from Thursday to Sunday's race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime