Verstappen: Sometimes you have to accept you are not winning

Verstappen started the Austrian Grand Prix on the back foot, starting from seventh on the grid after a tough and unlucky qualifying where he lacked pace while also being denied a chance at another lap in Q3 when the Yellow flag came out after Pierre Gasly spun his Alpine.

The reigning Formula 1 champion was trying to find his way up the order on Lap 1 of the race when, out of the blue, Antonelli, who started from ninth, crashed into him after losing control of his Mercedes under heavy braking.

That retirement was the cherry on top of Verstappen's tough season so far, as he is fighting with one arm behind his back with a recalcitrant RB21 that is even too much for him to handle despite his huge talent.

The Dutchman cut a calm figure after his retirement, and while reflecting on the incident, he said: "It’s just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying.

"But overall, we didn’t really have that great pace anyway this weekend, so a lot of learning for us how we can hopefully do better next weekend. But of course, not an ideal result today," he added.

McLaren took a one-two finish in Austria with Lando Norris leading Oscar Piastri home, almost 20s clear of the chasing pack, while Red Bull Racing are yet to find a solution to their car issues.

"We try to do our best, always. My mentality doesn’t change," Verstappen responded when asked about his prospects for the rest of the season.

"We’ve won a lot in the past. Sometimes you have to accept that you are not winning, and we just try to do the best that we can," he pointed out.

And when asked how his title chances will be affected by his retirement at Red Bull Racing's home race, he replied: "Hopefully then people will not mention it too much anymore."

Later in Red Bull Racing's race report, Verstappen added: "The incident with Kimi on the first lap was unfortunate but no one does that on purpose and I knew it was an accident.

"He apologized to me when we were walking back from the track and he came to my room afterwards to apologise again, we get on very well, he is an amazing guy and a super talented driver," he concluded.

Verstappen remains third in the 2025 F1 drivers' championship, but the gap to Piastri in the lead is now 61 points. Norris is second, 46 points ahead of the Verstappen.

(Quotes from Sky Sports F1)