Verstappen thanks Red Bull: "Decided to make pit stop at right time".
- GPblog.com
For a long time it looked as if Max Verstappen would not be able to reach the podium, but thanks to the rain shower at the end of the race he managed to secure second place. The Dutchman is very happy with his second place in the Russian Grand Prix.
Rain gives Verstappen a helping hand
"It was pretty tricky on the in lap to make the call to go to inters but then it was really slippery," said Verstappen in an initial reaction. The timing could not have been better. "We made the call at the right time because if we had gone a lap earlier we would have destroyed the inters in the last sector."
Verstappen continued: "To come from last to second is very, very good. The race itself was not easy because it is difficult to pass again. Once you got stuck you would also damage you tyres. The rain helped us to make that last jump."
Lewis Hamilton scored seven more points and so retakes the lead in the world championship. However, the damage was limited. "With the penalty, we had and then finishing just one position behind Lewis is certainly not a bad result. When I woke up this morning I didn't expect that."