Verstappen: 'That caused the tyre problems for Red Bull'

Max Verstappen had to settle for second place behind Charles Leclerc despite being a favourite in Austria, but he minimised the damage by winning the sprint race and the fastest lap. For the French Grand Prix, the Dutchman hopes Red Bull Racing will be more competitive again.

Looking back at the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen thinks he knows why Red Bull suddenly suffered so much from tyre degradation. "I think we just didn't put the best package of the car on the track which causes the issues with the tyres. We understood a bit more, and I expect us to be more competitive now," he explained to Sky Sports.

The championship leader therefore hopes that the problem will not repeat itself at the Circuit Paul Ricard. In addition, Verstappen stresses that he scored important points in a race where the RB18 was not as competitive as usual. "If that was our off weekend finishing second that is still very good for us," the Red Bull driver continued, before adding that Carlos Sainz's retirement also helped him achieve second place.