Lewis Hamilton’s “masterful” winning showing in the Formula 1 British Grand Prix showed “how much speed he still has”, according to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.
Hamilton ended his protracted 945-dae wait to return to the top step of the podium in F1 as he succeeded in an enthralling mixed-conditions encounter at Silverstone.
Verstappen emerged as Hamilton’s closest challenger at the chequered flag as the Dutchman put in a late charge on a drier track to overtake McLaren’s Lando Norris.
However, the Dutchman was made to lament Red Bull’s struggles earlier in proceedings preventing him from showcasing his usual prowess through damp conditions.
Verstappen admitted post-race that he was fearing a sixth-place result as the McLaren drivers passed with ease and then Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was pressurising him.
But with a well-timed switch to the Hard compound seeing him come up 1.4s short behind Hamilton, Marko contended Verstappen needed “two laps” to steal the win.
“We lost the race in the first stint, because Max suffered from a lot of graining on the Mediums,” Marko added to Sky Deutschland.
“In addition, he also lost a lot of time on a wet circuit, while this is normally his strong point.
“The tyres just didn’t work, but I have to thank our people for the pit stops and strategy. Everything was right, including the choice of Hard tyres in the last stint.”
However, Marko has commended how Hamilton was able to preserve the Softs to have enough pace in hand in the final laps to stop Verstappen from displacing him.
With Norris dropping back as he encountered extreme degradation on the red-walled compound, Marko has admitted that Hamilton’s experience made the difference.
“You can only congratulate Hamilton,” the Austrian, 81, expressed. “He held up well on a dry track. You then see his strength in terms of tyre management.
“We could see that his tyres had already started to grain slightly.
“And we thought it would be OK, but that shows what a master he is, who can read a race and who challenges the tyres just right so that they don’t collapse.
“Lewis Hamilton did a great job, and that just shows how much experience and speed he still has.”
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