Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says he never expected to finish on the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix, having started from 16th place on the grid.
Verstappen enjoyed a storming start in damp conditions and was seventh before the end of the first lap, before making quick progress up the order, as drivers switched to slick tyres.
He made his way up to second place shortly after the race restart, via moves Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, but later lost a place to Sebastian Vettel after a lock-up into the hairpin.
Verstappen came under intense pressure from his Ricciardo across the closing laps but managed to hold him off to take third.
“No, of course not, I didn’t expect that at all,” he said when asked if he thought a podium was possible. “If we could score some nice points that would be positive but then the first lap was very challenging.
“I think I passed nine cars. So that’s not too bad. From there on I think we made the right call with the change of tyres to slicks. It’s a bit of a gamble but it worked out.
“I was a bit cautious to not go too early and it paid off. Then I was in a good position afterwards. I managed to get past Daniel in Turn 6 and then I was building a gap.
“But then straight away I felt the balance of the car was a bit limited to the front so I was destroying the left front and I couldn’t get the car to turn.
“That’s what basically happened when Sebastian was behind me, just under braking, very difficult, locked up and went wide. Then had quite a big flat-spot. Tried to continue for one lap but then I decided to box.
“I knew the last stint would be very hard with which lap I stopped, but I managed to stay in third and that’s, of course, very positive, especially after starting 16th. It was a great and entertaining race, I think.”
Verstappen's podium elevated him to third place in the Drivers' championship.
Discussion about this post