Verstappen: Second place feels ’like a victory’ after pre-race crash

Max Verstappen says his second-place result at the Hungarian Grand Prix feels like a victory following his crash before the start of the race.

On the way to the grid, the Dutchman locked-up at Turn 12 and made contact with the wall, damaging his front wing and suspension.

His mechanics worked on the car with only minutes to go before the commencement of the grand prix, however they successfully managed to carry out the repairs and send Verstappen into the race.

“It was not how I wanted it in the beginning of course, ending up in the barriers on the laps to the grid,” Verstappen said. “But the mechanics did an amazing job to fix the car. I don't know how they did it, but it was incredible.

“To pay them back with second place, of course I'm very pleased with that. The first lap was crucial. From there on, we had [the] right calls and had good pace so we just kept doing our own thing.

“To be able to split the two Mercedes cars was good for us.”

Verstappen says that there were no lasting effects from his crash and that his RB16 car was “working as normal” throughout the race. 

Valtteri Bottas chased down Verstappen after taking an extra pit stop on lap 50, but couldn't find his way past the Red Bull driver, despite closing up in the dying moments of the race.

“I was trying to do my own pace,” Verstappen said. “I could see he was catching by like a second a lap. But following here is quite tricky. So as soon as he was in one and a half seconds it was a bit more difficult for him.

“But in the last lap, we had traffic in front which didn't make it easier for me on the old tyres. But we managed to hang on, I'm very happy with second.

“I thought I was not going to race, so second is like a victory today.”