Max Verstappen: I didn't expect to be on the podium.
Max Verstappen finished second in Hungary – for the first time in 2026, the Red Bull Racing driver stepped onto the podium in two consecutive races. Isaac Hajar finished sixth for the fourth time – this is his most frequent result of the season.
Max Verstappen (2nd): “I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it. The start was good, I confidently navigated the first and second corners. Then after the first pit stop, I overtook Lewis Hamilton on the brakes at the first corner, and after that, I tried to manage tire wear and make the right strategic decisions. So I’m happy with second place.
Overtaking Lewis? I saw the only opportunity and took it. The car's brakes worked well, so that helped. I had everything under control.”
Isaac Hajar (6th): “I’m happy with the start, but I didn’t like the speed on the Medium tires – it just wasn’t there. For the first few laps, I kept pace with Kimi Antonelli, and then they all just drove away from me.
The tires lasted only five or six laps. In fact, the race ended for me at that point. Both sets of Hard tires were fine in terms of speed, but the stint on Medium ruined my race.
I’m happy with my pace on the fast lap in the first half of the season, but I lack consistency over the race distance, as was the case today. I was fast for 80% of the race distance, but in the first 20%, I just didn’t have the speed. I need to understand what the issues are.
Max was able to put all the pieces together and finish on the podium, but I’m not able to do that yet.”
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Max Verstappen: I didn't expect to be on the podium.
Max Verstappen finished second in Hungary – for the first time in 2026, the Red Bull Racing driver stood on the podium in two consecutive races.
Photo gallery: 26/07. Hungarian Grand Prix, Sunday
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Max Verstappen: I didn't expect to be on the podium.
Max Verstappen finished second in Hungary – for the first time in 2026, the Red Bull Racing driver stepped onto the podium in two consecutive races.