Verstappen: We did everything right with the strategy

After a string of victories in recent years, Red Bull Racing were considered favourites at Spa, but Max Verstappen was hampered by a penalty that cost him 10 places at the start and Sergio Perez was hampered by a poor set of tyres.

Max Verstappen (4th after George Russell was disqualified): “Overall a positive day as I started 11th and finished ahead of Lando, my main rival in the championship.

I had a good start, then I got into traffic where it was difficult to overtake, but we did everything right with the strategy. Maybe I could have gained more positions by starting at Hard, but I think we did well anyway. I am happy with our performance.

I am looking forward to the summer break and the opportunity to relax a bit. We always want to get better and faster and find solutions that can help us for the rest of the season, but for now everyone deserves some time off.

We started the season well, the last few races were a bit more difficult, but we were always ready to fight. The next race is my home round in Zandvoort, where we will have an exciting battle, where again a lot will depend on the tyres. I will be happy to achieve success in front of my fans.”

Sergio Perez (7th after George Russell was disqualified): “The race went well for me at first – I started second and fought in the leading group, but at the pit stop I was given Medium tyres, which didn’t work as well. At that point my opponents were running Hard, so I simply didn’t have a chance.

At the end of the race I managed to book the best lap – I wanted to increase the number of points earned by the team.

“My results have been up and down lately, the team needs to regroup, take a break during the summer break to understand everything and hopefully return to the fight with renewed strength in the second half of the season. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, getting back to training and recharging. There’s still a long way to go until the end of the season.”