Verstappen hails Austria as his best race of the year

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has picked the Austrian Grand Prix as his best race of the year, his first of three wins in 2019.

Verstappen managed to win after a slow start dropped him to ninth on the opening lap, taking power unit supplier Honda's first win in the V6 turbo hybrid era since the manufacturer's return to the sport in 2015.

Winning in Austria, which is also the home race of the Red Bull team, was special for Verstappen thanks to the level of Dutch support on hand to cheer him on also.

"[It's] difficult to choose but I think from the whole scene there and everything I think Austria," Verstappen explained.

"With it being our home Grand Prix of course and our first win with Honda so it was great to have victory there and there were so many Dutch fans there as well I think it just made it a little more special than the other ones."

"We were coming out of a few difficult races where we were just not competitive enough and I think the whole weekend (in Austria) was very warm. I think we made the right compromises with the car that worked for us in the race." 

Verstappen explained how the car suited the hot conditions of the race weekend where other teams struggled but also surprised by just how well the car worked on race day.

"Suddenly we tried in the race and the car came alive," Verstappen said. "Starting from the weekend before the car was not competitive but the upgrades seemed to be working a lot better but still, it was a bit unexpected.

"I think for the whole team it was a big competitive boost and especially for Honda after their difficult years in the beginning when they came back into Formula 1 so I think there was a bit of relief there as well."