Max Verstappen: A very positive result for us

      The second place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix was Max Verstappen's best result of the season. The four-time world champion stepped onto the podium for the second time in 2026 and said he was very pleased with the result. His Red Bull Racing teammate Isaac Hajar earned eight points for sixth place. Max Verstappen (2nd): "It was definitely a very good race for us. The first few laps were quite fun, and then it all came down to managing tire conditions. For half the race, the car was working in the optimal range, and then, let's say, there were some issues with the car that prevented us from maintaining the optimal pace. But I still finished second, not far from the winner. I think this is a very positive result for us. From that perspective, I am very happy. I hit my knees in the crash yesterday. You know, when you hit your bones against something hard, it's not a pleasant feeling. But today everything was fine, and that's the most important thing." Isaac Hajar (6th): "This is exactly the result we discussed with the team before the race when preparing to start from eighth place. We wanted to stick to an aggressive strategy, so we made an early pit stop. It's not the fastest strategy, but the most effective one to gain positions, and we agreed on that option. Speaking of race pace, today it was the best since the start of the season. Obviously, today we had the second fastest car, so ideally, we should have finished fourth, but it didn't work out. I am quite satisfied with the race pace, but still not happy with the car's behavior. I couldn't find the optimal settings all weekend, but despite that, we are fast. It's both good and bad news."