Verstappen ‘overcomes difficult moments’ with Austrian GP win

Max Verstappen says his surprise Austrian Grand Prix victory has seen him through his tough start to the 2018 Formula 1 campaign for Red Bull.

The Dutch driver had been involved in six high-profile incidents in the opening six rounds this year which saw his driving come under fire from the media.

Verstappen has been eager to insist he hasn’t changed his approach to racing during a recent turnaround with three consecutive F1 podiums, the first time the 20-year-old achieved the feat in his career, culminating in a first win since the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen feels the ‘difficult moments’ are over for him having produced a near-faultless charge starting from fourth on the grid, aided by pitting under the Virtual Safety Car caused by Bottas's retirement, and a vital first-lap pass on Kimi Raikkonen which saw him take the lead once Lewis Hamilton pitted.

“It’s just racing, sometimes you have difficult moments,” Verstappen said. “You try to work hard, even when it’s difficult, and you overcome the situation. It’s as simple as that, it’s racing.

“It was a bit unexpected, especially after our Friday pace and in the long runs. In the first stint, we could keep up well. I tried to do my own race, saw Valtteri disappearing with a problem. We made the right call when virtual safety car came out and we pitted.

“I was in the lead, I tried to do my own pace. Also from behind, there was no pressure. Daniel struggled with his tyres and Kimi was in second. I tried to manage, I could see my tyres opening up. I just had to drive around the issue. Luckily I could manage it until the end of the race.”

Verstappen has described his opening-lap overtake on Raikkonen as ‘hard but good racing’ as his front-right tyre collided with the Finn’s right-rear which caused him to slide wide which allowed the Red Bull driver to skate through to third place at the end of lap one.

“It was as hard racing but good racing,” he said. “Kimi’s experienced enough to handle situation well. We had a little touch, but I think it’s also good for the sport.”