Ferrari, benchmark of Verstappen’s difficulties: “Sainz caught up with me and I thought ‘today is a bad day'”. Max Verstappen's indirect jab at Ferrari.

Difficulties and comeback
Max Verstappen finished second in Sunday’s British GP at Silverstone, managing to gain more points in the standings over his main pursuer, Lando Norris. The Dutchman was preceded at the finish line only by Lewis Hamilton, but for long stretches, his race was extremely difficult, making it a real possibility that he wouldn’t make it to the podium.

After a good start, the reigning world champion slipped back, dropping from third to fifth in just a few laps and being closely threatened by Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. Thanks to George Russell’s retirement, McLaren’s strategic errors, and Red Bull’s excellent pit wall calls, the Hasselt champion managed to turn the situation around, climbing back to an unexpected second place.

The indirect jab at Ferrari
After the race, speaking in a press conference, Max Verstappen acknowledged how much he struggled in the first part of the Grand Prix. However, in doing so, the Dutchman made an observation that certainly won’t please the Ferrari team. The benchmark for Red Bull’s difficult moment was – for the #1 driver – the fact that ‘even’ the red car was about to overtake him.

“The start wasn’t the best. I was trying to keep pace, but I ran out of tires. I struggled to find grip,” Verstappen explained to journalists. “Then Lando passed me. Then Oscar passed me. It started raining, and even there, I had no grip. I didn’t want to take too many risks because I didn’t feel comfortable. So I thought, ‘I’ll just stay here and try to survive.’ And yes, that’s what I did. Then at some point, Carlos [Sainz] joined the party. So I thought, ‘Wow, this is really a bad afternoon.'”

“I found him behind me”
Even on the post-race podium, talking with Norris and Hamilton, Max Verstappen expressed surprise at the excellent times set by the Spanish driver when the track started to get wet: “Carlos was really fast in those laps,” the championship leader observed while chatting with Norris. “He was 5-6 seconds behind me, then I looked in the mirrors and saw him glued to me.” – the Dutchman pointed out at the end of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. Now it’s up to Ferrari to work and react so they don’t become the benchmark for others’ difficult moments.