Max Verstappen says Red Bull Racing’s drivers were free to race during the Malaysian Grand Prix as long as they kept it clean.
Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen found themselves in second and third place with 20 laps remaining and the two were involved in a close battle.
They then moved into the lead when Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes retired with an engine failure on lap 41.
Ricciardo ended up pulling away from the second RB12 and crossed the line to claim his first win of the 2016 season.
Verstappen felt he had the speed to win but older and overheating tyres prevented him from challenging in the final laps.
“Having both drivers on the top two steps of the podium is a fantastic result for the team,” Verstappen said.
“I was really pleased about my start, finally it worked well again and put me right up there into Turn 1. I was then compromised due to Sebastian’s [Vettel] move, I had to avoid his collision with Nico [Rosberg] which meant I lost a few places.
“The time I lost ultimately cost me at the end of the race along with a few unfortunate Virtual Safety Cars, but that is racing. Once I had the hard compound on I was catching guys ahead.
“The battle with Daniel during the race was great and really good fun. We have a lot of respect for each other so you can see we gave plenty of space but were still able to push hard.
“I got close to being in the DRS activation zone but my rubber was slightly older and overheating so I just couldn’t get within range and attack.
“The team told us we were free to race as long as we kept it clean, which we did. It is really nice to hear that from the radio. I think we had the race pace and speed to win but we have to be very happy to settle for a perfect one-two for the team.”
